Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Removed11. The amounts shall be paid following the decision referred to in paragraph 3 in accordance with the loan agreement.

Removed12. Payment of any amount of the support in the form of loans shall be subject to the submission by Moldova of a request for payment in the form set out in the loan agreement, , and in accordance with the provisions set out in the Facility Agreement. This shall not apply to payment of pre-financing.

RemovedTransparency with regard to persons and entities receiving funding for the implementation of the Reform Agenda

Removed1. Moldova shall publish up-to-date data on final recipients receiving amounts of funding exceeding the equivalent of EUR 50 000 cumulatively over the period of three years for the implementation of reforms and investments under this Facility.

Removed2. For final recipients referred to in paragraph 1, the following information shall be published in a machine- readable format on a webpage, in order of total funds received, having due regard to the requirements of confidentiality and security, in particular the protection of personal data:

Removed(a) in the case of a legal person, the recipient’s full legal name and VAT identification number or tax identification number, where available, or another unique identifier established by the legislation applicable to the legal person;

Removed(b) in the case of a natural person, the first and last name or names of the recipient;

Removed(c) the amount received by the recipient and the reforms and investments under the Moldova Facility that this amount contributes to implementing.

Removed3. The information referred to in paragraph 2 shall not be published where disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of the final recipients concerned or seriously harming their commercial interests. Such information shall be made available to the Commission.

Removed4. Moldova shall transmit electronically to the Commission at least once a year the data on the final recipients referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, in a machine-readable format to be defined in the Facility Agreement, as referred to in Article 8(5)(l).

RemovedProtection of financial interests of the Union

RemovedProtection of the financial interests of the Union

Removed1. In implementing the Facility, the Commission and Moldova shall take all the appropriate measures to protect the financial interests of the Union, taking into account the principle of proportionality and the specific conditions under which the Facility will operate, the preconditions set out in Article 5(1) and conditions set out in the specific Facility Agreements, in particular regarding the prevention, detection and correction of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities as well as the investigation and prosecution of offences affecting the funds provided under the Facility. Moldova shall commit to progressing towards effective and efficient management and control systems and ensure that amounts wrongly paid or incorrectly used can be recovered.

Removed2. The Facility Agreement shall provide for the following obligations of Moldova:

Removed(a) to regularly check that the financing provided has been used in accordance with the applicable rules, in particular regarding the prevention, detection and correction of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities;

Removed(b) to protect whistleblowers;

Removed(c) to take appropriate measures to prevent, detect and correct fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities as well as to investigate and prosecute criminal offences affecting the financial interests of the Union, to detect and avoid double funding and to take legal actions to recover funds that have been misappropriated, including in relation to any measure for the implementation of reforms and investment projects or programmes under the Reform Agenda and to take appropriate measures to treat mutual legal assistance requests by EPPO and Member States’ competent authorities concerning criminal offences affecting the funds under the Facility, where applicable and without delay;

Removed(d) for the purpose of paragraph 1, in particular for checks on the use of funds in relation to the implementation of reforms in the Reform Agenda, to ensure the collection of, and access to, in compliance with Union data protection principles and with applicable data protection rules, adequate data on persons and entities receiving funding, including beneficial ownership information, for the implementation of measures of the Reform Agenda under Chapter III;

Removed(e) to expressly authorise the Commission, OLAF, the Court of Auditors and, where applicable, EPPO to exert their rights as provided for in Article 129 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Removed(ea) to include all information related to project implementation, in particular concerning performance and financial implementation, and final recipients in an interoperable information system provided by the Commission as laid down under Article 36(2)(d) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509.

Removed3. The Facility Agreement shall also provide for the right of the Commission to reduce proportionately the amount of the non-repayable financial support provided under the Facility and to recover from Moldova, including by offsetting, any amount spent to achieve the objectives of the Facility and to reduce the amount of the loan to be disbursed to the Beneficiary or request early repayment of the loan in accordance with the loan agreement, in the event of funds unduly paid, identified cases of, or serious concerns in relation to, irregularities, fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest affecting the financial interests of the Union that have not been corrected by Moldova, or in cases it is found, after the payment has taken place, that steps were not satisfactorily fulfilled, or of a serious breach of an obligation resulting from the Facility Agreement or from the loan agreement When deciding on the amount of the recovery and reduction, or the amount to be repaid early, the Commission shall respect the principle of proportionality and shall take into account the seriousness of the irregularity, fraud, corruption or conflict of interest affecting the financial interests of the Union, or of a breach of an obligation. Moldova shall be given the opportunity to present its observations before the reduction is made or early repayment is requested.

Removed4. Persons and entities implementing funds under the Facility shall report any suspected cases of fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities affecting financial interests of the Union without delay, to the Commission and to OLAF.

RemovedRole of Moldova’s internal systems and audit authority

Removed1. For the part of the Facility funding made available as financial assistance, the Commission can rely on the audit authorities established by Moldova for the purpose of controlling public expenditure. As appropriate, the Commission shall also rely on further democratic scrutiny as referred to in Article 4(9).

Removed2. The Reform Agenda shall prioritise in the first years of their implementation reforms related to negotiation Chapter 32, particularly on public financial management and internal control, as well as on the fight against fraud, together with Chapters 23 and 24, particularly when it comes to justice, corruption and organised crime and Chapter 8, particularly on State aid control.

Removed3. Moldova shall report any irregularities, including fraud, which have been the subject of a primary administrative or judicial finding, without delay, to the Commission and shall keep the Commission informed of the progress of any administrative and legal proceedings in relation to such irregularities. Such reporting shall be done by electronic means, using the Irregularity Management System, established by the Commission.

Removed4. The entities referred to in paragraph 1 shall maintain regular dialogue with the Court of Auditors, OLAF and, where appropriate, EPPO.

Removed5. The Commission may carry out detailed systems reviews of Moldova’s budget implementation based on a risk-assessment and dialogue with audit authorities, and issue recommendations for improvements in the systems.

Removed6. The Commission may adopt recommendations to Moldova on all cases where in its views competent authorities have not taken the necessary steps to prevent, detect and correct fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and irregularities that have affected or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the expenditure financed under the Facility and in all cases where it identifies weaknesses affecting the design and functioning of the control system put in place by the those authorities. Moldova concerned shall implement such recommendations or provide a justification on why it has not done so.

RemovedMONITORING, REPORTING AND EVALUATION

RemovedMonitoring and reporting

Removed1. The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the Facility and assess the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3. The monitoring of implementation shall be targeted and proportionate to the activities carried out under the Facility Agreement, and shall be without prejudice to the reporting requirements set out under Regulation (EU) 2021/947. The indicators referred to in Article 11(2) shall be expected to contribute to the Commission’s monitoring of the Facility.

Removed2. The Facility Agreement referred to in Article 8 shall set out rules and modalities for Moldova to report to the Commission for the purpose of paragraph 1 of this Article.

Removed3. The Commission shall provide an annual report to the European Parliament and the Council on progress towards the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation. The annual report shall be complemented by presentations on the state of play of the implementation of the Facility twice per year.

Removed4. The Commission shall provide the annual report referred to in paragraph 3 to the Committee referred to in Article 27(1).

Removed5. The Commission shall report on the progress of the implementation of the Reform Agenda of Moldova in the context of the scoreboard established under Regulation (EU) 2024/1449.

RemovedFacility scoreboard

Removed6. The Commission shall establish display the progress of the implementation of the Reform Agenda in the Facility scoreboard, established under Regulation (EU) 2024/1449.

RemovedEvaluation of the Facility

Removed1. After 31 December 2027 and by 31 December 2031 at the latest, the Commission shall carry out an independent ex-post evaluation of the Regulation. That ex-post evaluation shall assess the Union contribution to the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation.

Removed2. The ex-post evaluation shall make use of the good practice principles of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, seeking to ascertain whether the objectives have been met and to formulate recommendations with a view to improving future actions.

Removed3. The Commission shall communicate the findings and conclusions of the ex-post evaluation accompanied by its observations and follow-up, to the European Parliament, the Council and the Member States. That ex-post evaluation may be discussed at the request of the European Parliament, the Council or the Member States. The results shall feed into the preparation of future programmes and actions and resource allocation. That ex-post evaluation and follow-up shall be made publicly available.

Removed4. The Commission shall, to an appropriate extent, associate all relevant stakeholders, including Moldova, social partners, civil society organisations, in the evaluation process of the Union’s funding provided under this Regulation, and may, where appropriate, seek to undertake joint evaluations with the Member States and other partners with close involvement of Moldova.

RemovedReporting by Moldova in the context of the Economic and Financial Dialogue

Removed1. The beneficiary shall report once a year in the context of the Economic and Financial Dialogue on the progress made in the achievement of the reform-related part of its Reform Agenda.

RemovedParliamentary oversight and scrutiny over the Facility

Removed1. The Commission shall report to the competent committees of the European Parliament on the state of progress in the implementation of the Facility and the Reform Agenda. The Commission shall provide the European Parliament with written information on:

Removed(a) the state of progress in the implementation of the Facility, in particular the Reform Agenda and related investments and reforms, as well as the Facility Agreement;

Removed(b) the assessment of the Reform Agenda, and any amendments thereof;

Removed(c) the main findings of the report referred to in Article 23(3);

Removed(d) payment, withholding and reduction procedures, where applicable, including any observation presented to ensure a satisfactory fulfilment of the conditions;

Removed(e) the withholding and suspension of payments as well as the reduction of funds, including any observation presented and remedial measures taken by the beneficiary to ensure a satisfactory fulfilment of the payment conditions;

Removed(f) any other relevant elements in relation to the implementation of the Facility.

Removed2. The regular dialogue between the European Parliament and the Commission shall take place at least once a year, in addition to ad-hoc meetings responding to sudden developments in the country. Ahead of each dialogue, the Commission shall provide the Parliament with information referred to in paragraph 1. The Facility scoreboard referred to in Article 24 may serve as a basis for the dialogue.

Removed3. The European Parliament may express its views in resolutions as regards the matters referred to in paragraph 1 and the Commission shall take those views into account.

RemovedFINAL PROVISIONS

RemovedCommittee procedure

Removed1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee, established by the Regulation (EU) 2021/947.

Removed2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

Removed3. For implementing acts referred to in Articles 13(1) and 14(2), where the committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the draft implementing act and Article 5(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.