Chiveri Announced the Creation of a Convergence Fund to Bring the Two Banks of the Dniester Closer Together

The fund will pool internal and external resources to finance social and infrastructure projects, including in settlements on the left bank of the Dniester River that are not controlled by the constitutional authorities. The funds will be generated, among other things, from customs duties levied on economic agents from the Transnistrian region and other taxes that are planned to be introduced gradually, according to Radio Moldova. Chiveri cited the example of an energy efficiency levy already applied to companies on the right bank, which will be extended to importers of petroleum products from the left bank of the Dniester: 16 bani for a litre of petrol and 18 bani for a litre of diesel fuel, which is equivalent to one ban per kilowatt in the energy sector. “Our companies began paying this levy in June last year. Companies from the Transnistrian region and eastern districts should have been notified in the last few days. It is not a very large amount, but it will also be directed to this convergence fund. It is not so much a significant amount as a symbolic one, which allows us to expand the legal framework in the economic sphere to the whole country. Similar steps will follow,” the Deputy Prime Minister explained on TVR Moldova. According to the official, the fund will not be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Tiraspol, but will be part of a gradual process of economic reintegration. He stressed that the projects will be implemented at the level of local communities and companies registered on the right bank, without direct coordination with the Transnistrian authorities. “Knowing or assuming that this proposal will be rejected, we will act accordingly and find a mechanism for implementing this project, which will not be easy,” Valeriu Chiveri emphasized. Legal procedures for establishing the fund have already been initiated, and the mechanism for its implementation is nearing completion. The authorities are counting on support from external partners, primarily the European Union. The Deputy Prime Minister added that the gradual expansion of the regulatory framework across the entire country would ensure a level playing field for economic agents and change the dynamics of the reintegration process, which would take several years.