This is the first of three planned disbursements under the Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) programme to Moldova that was adopted in September 2017. The programme, worth up to €100 million, is designed to assist Moldova in covering its external financing needs while implementing a wide-ranging and ambitious structural reform agenda. For disbursements under the MFA programmes to take place, several conditions need to be met: political preconditions related to respect of democratic mechanisms, the rule of law and human rights need to be fulfilled, and specific policy measures need to have been successfully implemented. Disbursements are also conditional on good progress with the IMF programme. Moldova has now also fulfilled the policy commitments agreed with the EU, as laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding, for the release of the first disbursement. This includes measures taken to fight corruption and money laundering, to foster greater transparency in public finance management, to modernise the country’s public administration, to advance the ongoing reforms of the energy and financial sectors and to improve the business environment. The IMF also recently completed the fourth and fifth reviews of its programme with Moldova. These decisions have paved the way to a resumption of the disbursement of the assistance. The disbursement of €30 million will be composed of €10 million in grants and €20 million in loans.