Today, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) welcomed the Republic of Moldova as a cooperating country, extending the EEA’s country network to 32 members and 7 cooperating countries across Europe.
With the EEA Management Board’s formal endorsement today, Moldova becomes the seventh cooperating country of the EEA, joining the Western Balkan partners Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.
The EEA is one of the first EU agencies to integrate Moldova into its regular activities and operational structures. Its cooperation framework allows cooperating countries to engage in the Agency’s activities and become part of Eionet. Cooperating countries contribute to and benefit from shared environmental data, assessments and capacity‑building activities, supporting improved environmental governance and evidence‑based policymaking across Europe.
Jessika Roswall, EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, said: “Moldova’s cooperation with the European Environment Agency marks an important moment in its European integration journey. It is a concrete step both for Moldova and for the European Union, as we strengthen our cooperation and joint commitment to a healthy and sustainable environment that can strengthen our preparedness, security and resilience.”
“We look forward to further expanding this cooperation. Incidents such as the oil spill on the river Dniester are a testimony not only to common challenges we face, including those caused by war, but also to the solutions we can develop together,” said EEA Executive Director Leena Ylä‑Mononen.
An oil spill, caused by Russian attack on a Ukrainian hydropower complex located on the Dniester River close to the border with Moldova, is currently affecting the wider river basin, including Moldovan territory. The EU has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to help Moldova tackle the disaster.
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