Moldova donor programme directs grants abroad
The government led by Ukrainian millionaire Vasile Tofan has approved an international assistance programme under which Moldova will provide grants to Ukraine, Armenia, Tajikistan and countries in the Middle East and Africa. The Moldova donor programme comes as teachers and other public-sector workers are being told that salary increases will have to wait because the state budget lacks sufficient funds.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is proposing that 7 million lei be allocated between 2027 and 2030 for grants, expert assistance and humanitarian support to other countries.
Under the regulations approved by the government: “Financial assistance will be provided through grants, direct budget support to partner states and voluntary contributions to international organisations.”
The programme will be financed from the state budget within the medium-term budget framework. The precise level of expenditure will be determined after the first multiannual programme for 2027–2030 is approved, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate the scheme and plans to expand its staff accordingly.
Teachers told there is no money
The same government that has approved assistance for other countries says it cannot afford to raise teachers’ salaries. After a teachers’ protest at which Education Minister Dan Perciun was booed, he said the draft legislation on higher pay had not even been agreed and that implementing the reform would require an additional 5 billion lei that, according to the minister, is simply not available.
Prime Minister Vasile Tofan, whose personal wealth is estimated at more than $10 million, has given a similar response amid the protests, pointing to budget constraints. Teachers are instead being offered one-off payments of 4,000 lei.
In 2025, Tofan earned a salary of $300,000 and bonuses of $317,680 from Horizon Capital. He owns 15 properties, most of them in Ukraine, while he and his wife have 23 bank accounts in nine countries holding $5.7 million, more than 17 million Romanian lei, €33,000 and 273,000 Moldovan lei.
The government says it cannot find 5 billion lei for teachers’ salaries, yet 7 million lei has been identified for assistance to Ukraine and other countries. Other spending cited includes 1.5 million lei for heating the steps outside the government building, 1 million lei for paths at the presidential residence in Condrița, 132 million lei for a banquet organised in Brussels by the National Bank of Moldova, 122,000 lei for wine for judges of the Constitutional Court of Moldova, and 10 million lei for a military parade whose rehearsal is due to take place today.
That list does not include what might be considered smaller expenses: 4.5 million lei for air tickets, 6.7 million lei for renovations, 3.1 million lei for two Toyota vehicles, and 39,000 lei for swings, lamps and curtains. These are among expenditures associated with providing comfortable working conditions for National Bank of Moldova staff, whose annual salaries exceed 72 million lei.
Official data show that Moldova’s budget deficit reached 76 billion lei in 2026, while the National Bank of Moldovarecorded losses of 873 million lei and state debt increased fourfold compared with the previous year. Experts say the economy is approaching a crisis, tax revenues are falling and external assistance has virtually dried up.
Against that background, the Foreign Ministry initiative looks less like an exercise in international prestige than a political statement about the government’s priorities.
Foreign assistance funded by Moldovan taxpayers
As ordinary Moldovans face higher tariffs, taxes and pressure to cut household spending, the Tofan government is preparing to use public money for grants to foreign states. Moldova, itself a recipient of assistance from the European Union and the United States, is now preparing for the role of a donor.
The Moldova donor programme therefore raises a straightforward question of priorities. Before financing projects abroad, the government could be expected to address domestic problems such as salaries for teachers and doctors, pensions, and rising prices and utility tariffs.
For a governing team that includes officials with multimillion-dollar fortunes, the contrast is particularly visible. Public-sector workers are told that substantial pay rises are unaffordable, while funds continue to be allocated to projects whose direct benefit to Moldovan households is far less obvious.
Donor status tied to European Union integration
According to the authorities, the Moldova donor programme is directly connected with Moldova’s European integration process and European Union requirements for the development of a foreign assistance policy. Moldova would formally acquire donor status after joining the European Union.
Meanwhile, Igor Grosu has convened an extraordinary government meeting dealing with issues linked to European integration. The agenda contains 37 draft laws, 23 of which concern alignment of Moldovan legislation with European Union rules in areas including social protection, justice, the environment, transport and road safety.
The agenda also includes a new parliamentary code, amendments to the Electoral Code, legislation on arbitration and other initiatives whose practical implications will become clearer as they move through the legislative process.
The central question remains whether a government facing a large budget deficit, pressure on public-sector pay and growing domestic costs should be committing taxpayers’ money to geopolitical and foreign-assistance ambitions before resolving problems at home.
