The event titled ” Nearer to the EU: Connecting the Republic of Moldova to the Three Seas Initiative,” organized by the Public Association “Partnerships for the New Economy” with the support of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, Europe Cafe and the Embassies of the Initiative’s member states, took place in Chisinau.
The event presented opportunities for regional cooperation and the potential of connecting the Republic of Moldova to road, energy, and communication infrastructure projects within the “Three Seas Initiative.” The working mechanisms within the Initiative and the priorities of the 9th Summit and Business Forum were presented by guests from the Member States. The Republic of Moldova has been invited to participate in the forum, which will take place on 11 April in Vilnius.
At the start of the event, Natalia Gavrilita, the director of the Association’s Partnerships for the New Economy, stated “The involvement of the Republic of Moldova in this Initiative presents a unique opportunity for European integration and to establish closer ties with our European neighbours. To this end, joint projects in strategic areas are being implemented in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. The country aims to achieve European integration as it’s fundamental strategic objective and a desire of the whole society.
For us, this means achieving economic prosperity, strengthening democratic values, ensuring security, and improving the lives of every citizen. We have chosen the European road, which is not an easy path, but it is the only way to achieve the true modernisation of our country that we have been seeking for decades and to provide high living standards for our citizens.”
The “Three Seas Initiative” is a presidential-level platform of EU member countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The initiative aims to reduce the economic development gap between different areas and EU Member States by increasing interconnectivity in the fields of energy, transport, and the digital environment. The Republic of Moldova has been invited to join as an Associate Participating State at the 2023 Initiative Summit hosted by Romania.
“Most EU countries are small and their economic development model is based on connectivity and openness as much as possible. Moldova aims to enhance its economy by establishing and reinforcing relationships with member states through the Three Seas Initiative. Attracting investment for necessary infrastructure projects is also a major objective. On the digitization dimension, Moldova already has several advantages. However, we aim to increase cooperation to create new opportunities, similar to the Baltic States,” stressed Dumitru Alaiba, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Digitisation.
In 2019, the Initiative established a Commercial and Market-Based Investment Fund to facilitate interconnection between Member States. The fund aims to facilitate the financing of joint transport, energy, and digital infrastructure projects. The resources of the Fund complement the efforts of national and private budgets, as well as European funds present in the region. This ensures investment in multiple projects at different stages of implementation.
“Economic development issues can be more easily addressed by supplementing public resources with private financial resources. In the context of implementing large infrastructure projects and involving the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund, the Republic of Moldova could mobilise domestic private resources that currently have limited investment opportunities, apart from state securities, “Dumitru Budianschi, President of the National Financial Market Commission, stated.
The “Three Seas Initiative” is a political platform consisting of 12 countries located between the Baltic, Adriatic, and Black Seas. These countries, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, account for 28% of the EU’s territory and 22% of its population.
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The Public Association “Partnerships for the New Economy” (PNE) is an independent non-profit think tank dedicated to promoting economic convergence between the Republic of Moldova and the member states of the European Union. PNE serves as a platform for mobilising people and developing solutions for a strong and resilient Moldovan economy that is prepared for future challenges.