The provision of state support to companies in Moldova is a complex matter and a sensible area in the European integration process, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Moldova Dirk Schuebel said during the presentation of a study themed “Legislation and Policies on State Assistance”, Info-Prim Neo reports. “In the EU, the legislation and regulation policies represent a common system that has been implemented since 1950 and that allows avoiding negative effects on trade,” said the ambassador. According to Dirk Schuebel, loyal competition will be ensured if Moldova immediately aligns itself to the EU state support regulation system and fully complies with the international requirements of the World Trade Organization in this area. This fact is also important for Moldova’s commercial relations with the EU, said the official. Viorica Carare, director general of the National Agency for Competition Protection, said that Moldova does not have legislation regulating state assistance and mechanisms for assessing it. Two weeks ago, the Government took a first step in this direction by approving the draft Law on State Support. “We hope that after the Parliament adopts this bill, the process of providing state support to companies will become more transparent and efficient,” Viorica Carare said. Study author Eugene Stuart said the state support offered in Moldova represents about 2% of the GDP. It is hard to determine its size exactly as there is no relevant database. The study recommends developing the capacity of the National Agency for Competition Protection so that it works as a state support regulator, compiling a Register of State Support, carrying out campaigns to inform the people about state benefit, and taking measures to ensure full compliance with the WTO norms. According to the leader of the team of the EU-funded Support for the Implementation of EU-Moldova Agreements Project Martin Horseling, this study is the tenth of the 16 planned to be made within the given project.