Spinu: Moldova Will Be Integrated into the EU Energy Platform for Joint Procurement

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The Republic of Moldova will be fully integrated into the EU’s Energy Platform for joint procurements. This will allow to diversify the sources of natural gas supplies and increase energy security of the Republic of Moldova. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu, who recently returned from the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community in Vienna, according to ipn.md. The Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development participated in a high-level dialogue with European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. “I was pleased to see such openness from the European community and my colleagues, who are willing to provide support to strengthen our energy sector and increase sustainability. Moldova’s friends are in the EU,” Andrei Spinu posted on his Facebook page. The officials discussed ongoing efforts to purchase gas for emergency purposes and to store it for this and next winter, to increase gas flows to Ukrainian and Romanian underground gas storage facilities, including through transit procedures, to speed up gas market liberalization and competition on the part of Moldova and the region. Development of Moldova’s domestic electric and thermal energy production capacity is also on the agenda of the event, and giving priority to the completion by 2025 of two planned high-efficiency cogeneration plants (engines – estimated electric capacity of 55 MW and 43 Gcal/h). “With the help of the EU, we will continue to develop the Energy Vulnerability Fund to support vulnerable energy consumers and to help them reduce their energy bills in 2023,” he said. On March 25, the European Council notified new measures to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy, including the creation of a common procurement platform that will also be open to the Western Balkan countries and the three associated Eastern partners: Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia.