| EU to give Moldova $115m to overcome financial crisis |
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08/09/2010 10:09 (521 Day 15:58 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- BRUSSELS. The European Parliament voted in Strasbourg on September 7 to give Moldova a 90 million euro grant ($114.5 million) to help the small ex-Soviet nation overcome the effects of the global economic crisis, a representative of the European People's Party said, according to RIA Novosti.
He said the financial help was aimed at strengthening Moldova's balance of payments and will be transferred in three or four tranches, two in 2010 and the rest in 2011.
Moldova, which is heavily dependent on trade with Russia, has been caught up in a wine dispute with MOSCOW for several years.
Russia, which previously imported 80 percent of all wine produced in Moldova, imposed an embargo on all Moldovan imports in March 2006. The ban dealt a severe blow to the impoverished nation's economy, bringing many winemaking enterprises close to bankruptcy.
The ban was introduced after tests revealed the presence of pesticides and heavy metals in Moldovan wine.
Russia resumed imports in 2007 of Moldovan wine, meat, apples, grapes, tobacco, and sunflower seeds but imposed strict quality control standards.
In July 2009, Russia lifted all restrictions on the import of Moldovan wine and was even prepared to open extra customs points, however further disputes this summer have caused additional disruptions to trade between the two countries.
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