Five Moldovan localities hosting refugees from Ukraine will benefit of EU support for the development of their infrastructure and public services

The European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced the selection of 18 communities from Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova as part of the grant programme to support the recovery of local economies and communities affected by the war.

In the Republic of Moldova, five localities will benefit from grants of overall €355,000: Cărpineni, Volintiri, Copceac, Cimișlia and Drochia. The funds allocated by the EU will contribute to improving local infrastructure and socio-economic integration of refugees from Ukraine settled in these localities. These initiatives will be implemented in 2023.

Two grants are awarded for crisis response and immediate recovery:

• Volintiri – a workspace for entrepreneurs, as well as an accommodation space for refugees will be set up.
• Cărpineni – the authorities will create an integration centre, which will ensure the professional re-profiling of employable refugees and their socio-economic inclusion. At the same time, the Centre will host activities for pre-schoolers so that parents can be employed.

Three grants are offered for renewal and anticipation:

• Drochia – the authorities intend to install a photovoltaic system and repair the damaged roof of a local kindergarten. Currently, about 250 children, including refugees from Ukraine, attend the pre-school institution. The investment will help save 80% of the electricity bill.
• Cimișlia – the local public authorities will purchase two vehicles to ensure the connection between the district centre and several localities, including Bogdanovca Veche, Bogdanovca Noua and Dimitrovca. Many people from these villages travel daily to the district centre to work, to medical institutions or to other public services, and access to public transport is difficult.
• Copceac – conditions will be improved for locals and refugees who want to start a business.

“The Response & Renewal Programme is an example of how the Mayors for Economic Growth initiative managed to introduce new innovative tools and practices to address current and future challenges of municipalities. Such initiatives are crucial during this difficult period that Moldova is going through. The five new interventions, which will be implemented at the local level, will contribute to integration of refugees from Ukraine into the host communities through creating jobs and generating economic opportunities,” stated Magdalena Mueller-Uri, Head of Cooperation Section of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova.

“The selected communities for the EU/UNDP Response & Renewal Grant Programme will benefit from improved availability and access to basic services (such as education, health, water and sanitation) to all inhabitants, including refugees from Ukraine, and in improved food and energy security. The Programme will contribute to enhanced resilience of communities to impacts of multidimensional crises and socio-economic inclusion of refugees and social cohesion of host communities”, mentioned Andrea Cuzyova, UNDP Resident Representative a.i to the Republic of Moldova.

The grants are provided as part of a new component of the “Mayors for Economic Growth” initiative, initiated to support localities hosting refugees from Ukraine. Grants awarded in the crisis response and immediate recovery lot are within the €30,000-50,000 range (no co-financing required), and in the renewal and anticipation lot – €70,000-100,000 (at least 20% co-financing required).

25 localities, members of the initiative, participated in the grants competition.

The “Mayors for Economic Growth” initiative, phase two (2021-2024), aims to ensure inclusive economic growth and job creation by supporting local authorities in the Eastern Partnership countries.