Moldova accomplishes negotiations with EU on association agreement

The EU-Republic of Moldova Cooperation Council has confirmed the completion of negotiations on the EU-RM Association Agreement, with the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) being its component. The confirmation was made at the Council’s 15th meeting in Luxemburg, which was attended by Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca.    

The Council expressed hope that the Association Agreement will be initialed at the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Vilnius (Lithuania) on November 29, 2013, and will be signed later on upon completion of all necessary technical procedures.    

The European Union appreciated the “considerable progress” achieved by Moldova in what pertains to the second, final phase of the Action Plan on visa liberalization, and reaffirmed the objective of providing Moldovans with the freedom of movement within a maximum-possible short time.   

At the 15th meeting, a special session was dedicated to the Transnistrian conflict settlement issue. The parties highlighted the importance of maintaining dialog within the incumbent negotiation format. The European Union has undertaken to continue rendering assistance to the populations resigning on both sides of the Dniester River.   

Premier Leanca believes that all the achievements concerned have resulted from the reforms implemented by the Moldovan authorities, and that all this is making the republic’s Euro-integration course irreversible.

At the end of the Luxemburg meeting, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule said the formation of the new Coalition for Pro-European Governance in Moldova and the Association Agreement negotiation completion are a powerful argument for deepening the dialog between Moldova and the European Union.   

Infotag’s dossier: The Association Agreement will create a new contractual framework for EU-Moldova relations, replacing the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement which entered into force in 1998. The future agreement will deepen the political association and economic integration of the Republic of Moldova and the EU. Its principal objective will be to draw Moldova closer to the EU through commitments across a range of areas, based on a strong degree of approximation to EU laws and standards. These areas will include enhancing political cooperation, reinforcing joint measures in migration, asylum, border management, drugs and crime, expanding economic relations, and increasing co-operation in critical sectors such as energy, environment, transport and public health, with a direct impact on citizens' daily lives and on the business environment.

The Association Agreement negotiations began in January 2010 and were supposed to be completed at the end of 2012.   

Adapted from infotag