EUROPEAN UNION POSTPONES FIRST TRANCHE OF MACRO-FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE - EU DELEGATION

The disbursement of the first tranche under the current Macro-Financial Assistance program has been put on hold, the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova has officially reported on Wednesday.

In its press release the Delegation pointed out that the European Commission has already stated this news in its reply to the inquiries made by some Moldovan mass media.

As was reported in those replies, disbursements under the Macro-Financial Assistance program "are contingent on the successful implementation of specific economic policy measures laid out in the Memorandum of Understanding and the fulfillment of political preconditions related to respect of democratic mechanisms, the rule of law and human rights".

The document also said that in the European Commission's opinion, the policy measures for a disbursement have been implemented.

"However, a Commission assessment undertaken together with the European External Action Service has found that the political preconditions have not been fulfilled. This assessment is based on the recent political events in Moldova and, in particular, the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of 25 June on the invalidation of election results in Chisinau. The disbursement of the first tranche under the current Macro-Financial Assistance program has, therefore, been put on hold", reported the European Union Delegation to Moldova.