A new EU project to ensure the visibility and communication of the measures taken to implement the Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (AA/DCFTA) was launched in Chisinau on November 7. The project will last for two years and envisions investments of €1.9 million, IPN reports.
In the launch, Deputy Prime Minister Octavian Calmac, Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, said not much was told to business entities and small and medium-sized investors about the advantages of the DCFTA and these could not thus fully use the available benefits. “I’m convinced that this visibility and communication project will cover all the sectors of the national economy and will disseminate information on the issue. Thematic sector explanations will be provided so that everyone finds answers to their questions and sees the advantages and possibilities of the European Union market and the industrial cooperation under this platform based on concrete examples. The Association Agreement covers everything except for political aspects related to Moldova’s aspirations to form part of the EU,” stated Octavian Calmac.
Attending the event, EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström said the EU became the most important export market of Moldova. The business community knows the opportunities, but not always can access them as some of the technical requirements are not so clear. “For example, the small companies not always have resources to employ a person who would visit the website and would check the legislation and comprehend all the requirements. What we understood is that the people need access to more information. This project includes communications about the DCFTA for the general public, but to communicate this we need real stories, entrepreneurs, not only in Chisinau, but all over the country, who could tell their success story and say themselves the advantages,” stated Cecilia Malmström.
Among the measures that will be taken within the two-year project are the provision of information and assistance through the Organization for the Development of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Sector (ODIMM) and the Moldova Investment Attraction and Export Promotion Organization (MIEPO) and organization of training events centering on the information and services offered by the DCFTA and over 40 workshops and training sessions on the utilization, periodical review and adjustment of services depending on the needs of beneficiaries.
During three years of implementation of the DCFTA, exports to the EU followed upward trends. Trade with the EU contributed 7.2% to the rise in Moldova’s exports, while 1,360 national companies (60% of the exporting companies) export to the EU. Moldova’s exports to the EU rose to 64%, while imports from the EU into Moldova make up 50%.
