The Delegation of the
European Union to Moldova
held yesterday a conference on present and future EU-Moldova trade and economic relations.
More than 120 participants representing business community from all regions
including Transnistria, as well as public authorities, civil society and mass
media attended the event. The conference organised in partnership with the
European Business Association was officially opened by the Prime Minister of
the Republic of Moldova Vlad Filat and the Head of EU
Delegation Ambassador Dirk Schuebel.
The first part of the event
was devoted to the current status of negotiations between the EU and Moldova on the
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). Welcoming the first round of
negotiations held on 16-23 March, 2012 on DCFTA, Ambassador Schuebel said: “We believe that this is an historical moment
in EU-Moldova trade relations. We are entering a new phase that will bring our
relations to a new level of depth and ambition”.
The Head of Political and
Economic Section of the EU Delegation Wolfgang Behrendt
presented the main fields and current status of negotiations on DCFTA after the
first round held in March. Three further rounds are foreseen also in June,
September and November 2012 and other 2-3 rounds in 2013. The EU and Moldova
plan to finalise the negotiations and sign the agreement on DCFTA by end of
2013.
“The EU market will not open automatically when DCFTA
negotiations are concluded and the Association Agreement enters into force”, said Mr. Behrendt. Moldova
have
to implement reforms, e.g. in the fields of technical regulations, sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights protection and competition
rules. The Moldovan chief negotiator on DCFTA, Deputy
Minister of Economy Octavian Calmic presented the opportunities for business
community but also the challenges of the DCFTA.
The Moldovan business now
benefits from Autonomous Trade Preferences (ATP) that the EU has extended to Moldova. The Minister
of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov spoke about the ATP and EU assistance
to the agricultural sector, and the Head of AGEPI International Cooperation and
European Integration Office Liliana Vieru outlined the EU assistance in the
field of Intellectual property rights.
In the third part of the
conference top manages from Moldovan and foreign companies presented some case
studies of exports to the EU and doing business in Moldova.
NOTE
In the framework of the
Eastern Partnership and the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU is negotiating
a future Association Agreement with Moldova since 2011. The DCFTA, officially
launched by the European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht in Chisinau in
January 2012, will be part of this Agreement, which aims to closely associate Moldova to the
EU both in economic and political terms, in line with the Eastern Partnership
objectives. The future trade relations will therefore expand significantly
beyond the scope of current cooperation.
Substantial reforms are
required by the DCFTA agreement notably in the fields of technical regulations,
sanitary and phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights protection
and competition rules. The EU assists Moldova
in this process, including by means of technical assistance in the framework of
the European Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument and the Comprehensive Institution
Building programme, since
2009, as well as with the EU Member States' support.
