To access EU funds for regional development, the Republic of Moldova needs to have a country position first

The Republic of Moldova is the single state from Eastern Partnership and from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CSI) that can be proud of putting into practice, without any conditions, the regional development policies at the level of the European Union. This is the conclusion of the Working Group on Agriculture and Regional Development of the National Convention for the EU Integration.

The funds available from the EU for regional development can be accessed mainly by the state’s members or candidates.

The members of the working group stated that the progress registered by the Republic of Moldova makes it stand out from the others, giving it the opportunity to wire this mechanism. That is why the authorities must proceed without delay to prepare a vision for the country on the regional development.

This vision must be adopted at all the levels of governmental structures that are involved in the process of negotiation within the working group on sectoral cooperation of RM-EU Association Agreement.

The involvement of the Ministry of Economy; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction; and the National Bureau of Statistics are particularly important.

The existing regions of development must correspond to their EU classifications in the way they were created: North, Center, South, Chisinau, Gagauzia and Transnistria. It is necessary to eliminate the discrepancy between the regions’ statistical data collection and the data mapped by the National Bureau of Statistics.  The territories must be modified so that the statistical regions match the regions of development. 

Another weak point that must be addressed is the poor management of the ministries. The solution is to create an inter-ministerial commission on regional development that will be led by a Vice Minister.

These are the main conclusions of the Working Group on Agriculture and Regional Development of the National Convention for the EU Integration. Proposals were presented at 2:00 P.M. March 30 during a press conference.

Source: www.azi.md