Events

At the “Eugeniu Coșeriu” Municipal Library, the Cross-Border Multiethnic Cultural Center created a space for activities and cultural exchanges between the communities of Bălți and Botoșani. The project was financed through the Romania–Republic of Moldova Joint Operational Program.

The total value of the project exceeded 90,000 euros, and the library in Bălți benefited from 40,455 euros. The center was equipped with furniture, laptops, six e-book reading devices, a printer, a projector, and a screen. Over 550 people participated in activities during the implementation. The equipment was used including for online activities during the pandemic and for distance learning of refugee children. “It is that place where we people, regardless of age and nationality, get to know each other, communicate, and during this school year period we have become a family,” says Irina Machidon, parent of a participant in the activities.

Bălți is located on the Vălcineț–Ocnița–Bălți–Ungheni–Chișinău–Căinari rail corridor, for which a financing package of 43 million euros was announced: a 20 million euro European Commission grant and a 23 million euro EBRD loan.

The funding concerns a 446 km route, and the works include replacing sleepers, rails, and ballast on critical sections. The project aims to increase traffic safety and speed and reduce transport time. For Bălți, its relevance lies in the connection with other economic centers and the movement of goods on an important route for Moldova and the European “Solidarity Lanes” initiative. The completion of the works is scheduled for 2027.

To access financing, an entrepreneur must understand which program suits them and what conditions must be met. The ODA Information and Business Consultancy Center in Bălți was created to offer this support to businesses in the northern region. Opened with the financing of the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through “EU4Moldova: Local Communities,” the center offers information and consultancy about entrepreneurial support programs and tools managed by the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development (ODA).

The services aim to help both those who want to launch a business and entrepreneurs looking for resources to develop an existing enterprise. “High-quality information and consultancy services regarding state entrepreneurial support programs and tools managed by ODA are offered here,” Gheorghe Iudin, interim director of ODA at the time of inauguration.

For an immobilized person, access to care begins at home. In Bălți, CASMED supports Ukrainian refugees with reduced mobility and the families caring for them through hygiene products, medical visits, and practical guidance. In 2026, at least 30 refugee, bedridden, or partially immobilized persons settled in the municipality received hygiene kits. The products cover daily needs and reduce families’ care expenses.

The aid is part of the project “Cities and Regions for All,” co-financed by the European Union through the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) within the Migration Partnership Facility. The project is implemented by the municipality of Prague 5, People in Need, and CASMED. In addition to material support, the project includes home medical visits, training for caregivers, and psychosocial support. Families learn how to safely mobilize the cared-for person, prevent bedsores, and better manage daily care. “This support is very important for us because often money is not enough,” says Victoria Koșel, who cares for her bedridden mother.

For some families, the road to a recovery center is a difficulty in itself. The Mobile Team in Bălți, active since September 2022, brings free rehabilitation and counseling services to the homes of children with disabilities. The team includes a speech therapist, a psychologist, a physiotherapist, and a social worker. Specialists make weekly visits and work according to an individual plan for each child, having a total of 29 beneficiaries.

The team was created through a partnership between the NGO CREDIS and the municipality’s social administration, within the project “Civil society organizations act for better social services,” funded by the EU, co-financed and implemented by the Soros Foundation Moldova. “For us, the fact that specialists come home is a big plus, since it is very hard for us to travel somewhere to a center for procedures,” says Vasile Ciobanu, the father of a beneficiary girl. He also describes the changes observed: “Alexandra has started pronouncing the consonants B, P, M much better, communicates more easily, and at kindergarten interacts much better with children and educators.” (Vasile Ciobanu).

The day center for children with intellectual disabilities in Bălți started from the families’ need to find specialized services in their own city. Developed by the NGO Autism Hope, the center was renovated and equipped with the support of the European Union, within a project co-financed and implemented by the Soros Foundation Moldova.

The EU’s contribution to the creation of the center was 52,000 euros, alongside co-financing from other partners and the local community. At the opening, the service was intended for at least 60 children from Bălți and other localities in the north of the country, including children with autism spectrum disorders. The center has spaces for individual and group activities, behavioral therapy, play and socialization, as well as a sensory room. The project also included training specialists so that the facilities would be accompanied by services adapted to the children’s needs. “Thus, we became convinced that we have many friends and supporters, whom we thank,” says Liuba Baciurin, project director and president of NGO Autism Hope, regarding the mobilization of support to create the center.

For an enterprise that produces doors, windows, and sliding systems, modernizing work processes is important to meet customer demands and competition.

The company “Aluminiu-Grup” from Bălți, specializing in aluminum and PVC products, accessed a grant of over 800,000 lei from European Union funds through the Retechnologization and Energy Efficiency Program managed by the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development (ODA). The financial support helped the company optimize its production processes and become more competitive. This is an example of European financing reaching a local business directly to modernize its activity. “We were working on older machinery that limited the number of operations and manufacturing speed. With the help of the support of over 800,000 lei, we purchased modern equipment,” says Vadim Patrașcu, administrator of Aluminiu-Grup.

Bălți will be one of the points of a new electrical interconnection between the Republic of Moldova and Romania. The Bălți-Suceava project involves the construction of a 400 kV overhead power line and works at the Bălți electrical substation to connect the new infrastructure to the energy system.

The project has an estimated value of 77 million euros. The funding combines a 15.4 million euro European Union grant awarded through the Neighborhood Investment Platform with two loans: 30.8 million euros from the EBRD and 30.8 million euros from the European Investment Bank. The new connection will provide the electricity system with more security and flexibility, facilitate electricity exchanges with the European market, and create conditions for integrating new renewable energy sources. For Bălți, the investment means modernizing an important point of the energy infrastructure; the pursued benefits also extend to the entire country. The works are to be carried out in 2027.

A new hospital begins with the design of spaces, medical flows, and the infrastructure necessary for patient care. For the future Bălți Regional Hospital, the European Union is offering a 3 million euro grant managed by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The funding is intended for project preparation, including the development of the concept and technical documentation.

The future institution is designed as a benchmark medical center for the north of the country. The hospital will improve access to modern medical services for about one million people in the region, not just for the residents of the municipality of Bălți. The completion of the hospital is scheduled for 2028.

In Bălți, a family business transformed sunflower husks and wood residues into a resource for heating homes and public institutions. The European Union supports innovation and courageous entrepreneurs. Ecobricheta, founded by Ludmila Abramciuc and Ivan Damaschin, began its activity in 2008 when biomass fuel was still little known in Moldova. The development of the enterprise was supported through the Energy and Biomass Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP.

The family benefited from a 15,000 euro interest-free financing for three years to procure biofuel production equipment. “This helped us develop the business because at that time banks were not granting attractive loans to enterprises for the simple reason that they did not see prospects in this field,” explains co-founder Ludmila Abramciuc. The investment in machinery was complemented by training sessions and visits to enterprises in Poland. The family was able to see how biofuel production works and how such a business can be organized. “For us, this means a job right here at home,” says Alexandru Timoșin, an employee of the enterprise.

The lack of a place in a nursery can delay a parent’s return to work. In Bălți, with the financial support of the European Union, the project “Early Education and Professional Integration – Sustainable Solutions for Bălți” aims to address this problem by linking access to toddler care with parents’ ability to integrate professionally.

Implemented by CASMED between March 2026 and August 2027, the project provides for the renovation and equipping of a pre-school group at Early Education Institution No. 36 “Ilenuța.” The project also includes support for parents. In the summer of 2026, CASMED and the partner institution organized free workshops with a psychologist dedicated to communicating with children, setting limits, and building trust-based relationships. The initiative is funded by the European Union under the project “Enhanced Local Employment Opportunities and Access to Nurseries for Vulnerable Parents,” co-financed and implemented by the Soros Foundation Moldova in partnership with Keystone Moldova and Expert-Grup.

At the Bălți Clinical Hospital, with the help of European Union funding, an emergency department of approximately 2,000 m² was renovated and equipped with computed tomography, ultrasound, and spaces for medical interventions. Now, doctors can provide medical care faster and more efficiently.

The modernization of the hospital cost over 60 million lei, of which approximately 2 million lei represented the contribution of the European Union. Two years earlier, the hospital had benefited from approximately 7 million lei through other European projects, including “EU4Moldova: Building a Sustainable Health System.” For patients from Bălți and the north of the country, the hospital’s renovation means access to examinations and interventions in a modernized department, and for the medical staff – better working conditions and equipment.