Popescu on Financial Assistance: the Money Won’t Come the Next Day

Many Western partners promised financial assistance to Moldova, but the money does not reach the country immediately. This explanation was made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Nicu Popescu on air of public Moldova-1 TV, reports realitatea.md. “First of all, not all funds are transferred at once. These processes can take several weeks. It is totally unrealistic that the theoretically declared aid of, say, 100 million is transferred the next day and turned into pensions and salaries. Things don’t work that way. Moldova has already received several tranches of financial aid, partly in grants, partly in loans. The Ministry of Finance has published additional figures. The International Monetary Fund transferred 55 million euros in May, the Polish government 20 million in July, the Romanian government announced additional grants. We have 125 million euros from the EU, of which 90 million euros are grants,” the head of the Moldovan diplomacy said. Nicu Popescu explained where the money from abroad goes. “This money goes into the country, roads are being built, now the access road to the new bridge we want to construct in Romania is being built. Electricity bills are subsidized, we’re accumulating reserves so we can deal with potentially difficult situations next year,” Popescu stated. Point