Moldovan authorities intend to inventory of agreements on free trade, investments' protection

Moldova needs to inventory all agreements on free trade and mutual protection of investments, so that at the time of accession, it can annul the treaties with EU member states and improve or modify the agreements it has with third countries. State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization Cristina Ceban has made statements to this effect during the Conference on the European Commission's enlargement report, held in Chisinau.

“We propose to inventory these agreements, to have a 'road map', a very well-structured action plan, so that at the moment of accession, those agreements will either be modified or amended, as necessary. What is important to understand is that, when we become member of the European Union, we anchor ourselves in the EU single market and must fully align with the EU's common trade policy,” said the official.

Cristina Ceban noted that, if a candidate country intends to negotiate a new free trade agreement, this agreement must be coordinated with the European Commission. However, given that Moldova has very little time available, the authorities do not plan to initiate negotiations on free trade agreements.

“In the case of agreements on mutual protection of investments, we have a few agreements that are already launched, thus in negotiation. Certainly, these agreements will be coordinated with the European Commission,” the official specified.

Ceban said that, in order to carry out an inventory, the provisions or clauses of amendment of the agreements need to be examined very carefully.

“Certain deadlines are foreseen: six months, one year. And when a country wants to exit an agreement, it must notify its commercial partner.”

At the same time, Cristina Ceban informed that the authorities also planned to conduct an analysis of products and exports.

“As a homework task, we aim to empower our producers, our exporters, so that when they become part of the single market, they are competitive and can fully benefit from the EU agreements with third countries. We aim to continue cooperating with the European Commission. We have good results and hope to achieve a better score in the next report,” Cristina Ceban also said.

The official said that Moldova currently had free trade agreements concluded with about 50 countries. Additionally, there are new agreements with EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries, with the United Kingdom, which is practically a replica of the DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area) agreement with the EU, and an agreement with Turkey, which was coordinated with the EU at the time of negotiation. Also, there are older agreements with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, bilateral agreements still in force.