On May 25, EBA members held the General Assembly session, in the exquisite atmosphere of the Mimi castle. Among the guests of the assembly were also representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, as well as various international cooperation partners and donors.
The purpose of this assembly was to update the members on the activities undergone in 2016 and first quarters of 2017, and to approve the audit reports. Thomas Moser, EBA President, reiterated the successful year EBA has had and the progress the association has made in all areas of activity, aimed at improving the business environment, enhance the capacity of members and promote business between Moldova and the EU. He also underlined the importance of successfully implementing economic reforms, so as to ensure in the following years additional private investments. Mariana Rufa, EBA Executive Director, continued by extensively listing the key performance indicators and the position papers that EBA has developed. The financial results for last year were also discussed. The 2016 audit report was performed by Deloitte, and was presented by Irina Litra, Deloitte Audit Manager, who mentioned the surplus achieved by the association and how the full set of EBA financial statements was prepared in accordance with the National Accounting Standards, Methodical Indications regarding the Accounting Particularities for Non-Commercial Organizations and accounting policies.
HE Pirkka Tapiola, EU Ambassador made a special appearance at the assembly. He mentioned the load of legislative work that has been carried out, which helped reload the EU financial assistance to the government. Looking at reforms, he specified that a lot of laws are passed but not implemented, and underscored that EBA should push for these implementations. He also added that in a country associated with the EU, the rule of law and European principles need to be followed. Mr Tapiola mentioned that working with EBA has been one of the biggest successes and congratulated Mr Moser and the team led by Mrs Rufa, whose passion and commitment keep the local and international companies moving on their way forward. Mr. Moser thanked the Delegation for backing the association’s initiatives.
A reception and networking session followed, where the members had the chance to catch up and tell more about the association to the other invitees.