Moldova marks 7 years since signing of Association Agreement with EU

Chisinau, 27 June /MOLDPRES/- Today, 27 June we mark the 7th anniversary of the signing of the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union. The agreement represents a new legal framework, established for advancing relations between the Republic of Moldova and the EU in all sectors of interest and includes the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which aims to stimulate economic integration and political association between Moldova and the EU.

The media information and communication service of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure reported that after 7 years of implementing the Association Agreement, the EU has strengthened its position as the main trading partner of our country, with about 67% of the Moldovan exports were directed to the European market in 2020, compared to 2014, when only 53% of exports were directed to the EU.

There was also an increase in the number of exporting companies in the EU, representing over 70 percent of the total number of exporting companies on the Community market, with a top five countries in which Moldovan companies carried out export activities: Romania, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic.

In the period, among the most important results, we can highlight the progress in the priority areas of DCFTA, such as energy, quality infrastructure, information services, entrepreneurship policy and others.

In the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, it should be noted that significant progress has been made, with basic regulations being promoted, transposing European directives and regulations. At the same time, the European Union supported the interconnection of the gas network between the Republic of Moldova and Romania, through the construction of the Iasi - Chisinau gas pipeline.

With reference to the business environment and entrepreneurial policy, actions were taken that contributed to increasing the competitiveness and quality of domestic goods, upgrading production processes, creating competitive jobs, increasing exports. Thus, among the progresses is attested the reduction of the number of permissive acts, the optimization of the number of authorized institutions with control functions, the implementation of a set of Programs of financial support and access to training of SMEs, etc.

During the reference period, the EU supported 19,531 SMEs through the EU4Business Initiative in Moldova, which generated an additional income of 345 million euros and created 21,930 new jobs, their turnover increasing by 14.9%, and as a result, exports increased by 3%.

An important achievement during this period was the development of the IT industry in the Republic of Moldova by creating and ensuring the functionality of the unique National Service for Emergency Calls 112, as well as the creation of the first Park for information technology Moldova IT Park, which contributed to the registration of 700 companies / residents. These companies generate 12,000 jobs, with an annual figure of about 5 billion lei.

In order to align the national standardization system with European requirements, over 27,000 European standards have been adopted by the Republic of Moldova, which is 100% of the total standards published by European standardization organizations. The use of the same standards will help facilitate trade and increase the competitiveness of products and services in the European market.

At the same time, Annex XV to the Association Agreement on the elimination of customs duties was updated, by which the Republic of Moldova was granted additional tariff quotas without customs duties for fruit exports to the EU.

In the context of turning to good account of the opportunities offered by DCFTA / AA and expanding the range of Moldovan products on the EU market, the most recent achievement is related to obtaining the right of transit and export of dairy products. Following the evaluation by the European Commission of the commercial units proposed by ANSA and their inclusion in the TRACES system, the Moldovan dairy products that will comply with the requirements of EU legislation will be able to be exported to the territory of the European Union.

The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, together with the responsible institutions, will continue to contribute to strengthening the strategic dialogue and partnership with the EU, and the measures planned by the MEI in this regard are currently aimed at achieving priority actions, including negotiating and signing the Agreement on conformity assessment and acceptance of industrial products (AECA), implementation of all measures to obtain the right to export products of animal origin (poultrymeat and eggs category B), adoption and implementation of the provisions of the new Customs Code of the Republic of Moldova etc.

The Moldova-EU Association Agreement was signed on 27 June 2014 and ratified in the plenary of the Chisinau Legislature on 2 July 2014. The European Parliament ratified the Association Agreement in the plenary session of 13 November 2014, in favor of its ratification by voting 535 deputies, against - 94 deputies, abstained - 44 deputies.

photo: MEI