Moldovan environmental civil society presented priorities at Eastern Partnership Summit 2025

NGO EcoContact represented the Republic of Moldova at the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Summit, held on 2-4 December 2025 in Brussels. The event, organized by the Secretariat of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, gathered organizations from all partner countries to identify the civic sector's needs in a context characterized by pressures on civic space and funding challenges.

Within Working Group No. 3 (Environment, Climate and Energy Security), EcoContact representative Anna Cazacu presented the priorities of environmental organizations in the Republic of Moldova, structured across three time horizons - immediate, medium and long-term.

EcoContact emphasized the need of flexible funding for NGOs, functional cooperation between authorities and environmental organizations, and support mechanisms that allow the retention of specialists in the nonprofit sector.


"For the medium term, practical training regarding the project cycle, European procurement, and access to technical assistance necessary for preparing complex projects in the environmental field was highlighted. In the long term, environmental organizations consider investments in climate resilience, water resource protection, sustainable forest management, and biodiversity conservation to be essential," explains EcoContact.


EcoContact's contribution was part of the joint exercise of Working Group No. 3 delegates, aiming to validate sector needs and formulate a coherent set of funding priorities. These were subsequently communicated in a dedicated donor session, attended by representatives of European institutions, including the European Commission (through Giulio Venneri), and Soros Foundation Moldova, represented by Daniela Vidaicu.


"Among the main recommendations made to external partners is the support for projects that directly contribute to the implementation of national environmental programs; strengthening the capacities of local communities; involving NGOs from the early stages of reform processes; funding organizational networks and re-granting mechanisms for local initiatives," the cited source states.


Through participation in the summit, EcoContact contributed to formulating a common position of Moldovan environmental organizations and conveying a clear set of priorities to European partners and donors, thus strengthening the voice of the environmental sector in the regional dialogue.