The authorities of Moldova and the European Union and the Transnistrian administration interpret in a different way the extension of a part of the Association Agreement with the EU to the left side of the Nistru River. It is about the fifth title of the Agreement that refers to trade on the whole territory of Moldova. The decision on its implementation was taken by the Association Council at the end of 2015. The situation was analyzed by independent expert Corneliu Ciurea within a project implemented by the Foreign Policy Association (APE), IPN reports.

In a meeting of the APE press club, the expert said the Republic of Moldova considers the Transnistrian region as a part of the Association Agreement, including as regards the fifth title. But the Transnistrian administration thinks that it does not form part of the Agreement because the Transnistrian side signed no document to this effect. The EU treats this issue ambiguously and insists that Transnistria should fulfill the conditions to meet the European standards, but without saying resolutely that this should obey Moldova’s legislation to be able to continue the commercial relations with the EU.

Consequently, after January 1, 2016 the Transnistrian region didn’t encounter problems in its commercial relations with the European Union. The fifth title, at least apparently, is applied to the whole territory of Moldova. Furthermore, there is an unofficial roadmap that imposes the region to meet the European standards on quality, certification of goods’ origin and sanitation within two years, stated the expert.

Corneliu Ciurea noted that the representatives of civil society consider the fact that there are so many documents that are not made public is strange. These are not secret, but this is how the trilateral Chisinau – Brussels – Tiraspol relationship develops. “What we understand from this unofficial roadmap is that the Transnistrian region is to annul the customs duties on European goods starting with 2017,” he said.

APE programs director Victoria Bucataru said the extension of the EU – Moldova Association Agreement is beneficial. “We would like to see what follows and how the provisions of this decision are implemented. This decision was regretfully taken in not very transparent conditions and thus the civil society’s capacity to monitor and assess its implementation and its results was reduced,” she stated.

The study was carried out within the project “Promotion of confidence building measures and sector cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and the Transnistrian region” that is implemented by the Foreign Policy Association.