Key information
- President Maia Sandu replaced the dollar with the euro as Moldova’s reference currency for exchange rates.
- The Central Bank of Moldova said that the adoption of the euro will reduce fluctuations in the Moldovan leu and disparities between buying and selling rates.
- Moldova aims to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) by 2025.
The President of Moldova announced a change in the country’s monetary strategy, replacing the dollar with the euro as the reference currency for exchange rates. This decision was made public on Thursday by President Maia Sandu, who underlined its alignment with Moldova’s economic realities. She pointed out that more than 60 percent of Moldova’s trade and 70 percent of its transfers are carried out in euros. Ms Sandu believes that this change will strengthen ties with the European Union and contribute to greater stability and predictability in Moldova. The Central Bank of Moldova echoed this sentiment by stating that the adoption of the euro as a reference currency will smooth out fluctuations of the Moldovan leu against the euro and reduce disparities between buying and selling rates of the EU currency.
Moldova’s integration efforts
According to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Moldova aims to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) by 2025. This announcement comes as Moldova has been experiencing an energy crisis since December 16 , due to the cessation of Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine. Russia ended the five-year gas transit deal with kyiv, citing security concerns, leading to a halt to the flow of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday morning.
The impact of the energy crisis
While Moldova receives around 2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year for the breakaway region of Transnistria, the rest of the country has been sourcing gas from European and global markets since 2023. However, the Cuciurgan power plant in Transnistria , which depends on Russian gas, provides about 80 percent of the electricity to the rest of Moldova.
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