Ministry of Economy prepares roadmap for instituting free trade with EU
The Ministry of Economy started to work out a roadmap for implementing the Agreement on the Creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Moldova and the European Union. The sixth round of the talks will take place in March and may be the last, Deputy Minister of Economy Octavian Calmic, who is the chief negotiator on behalf of Moldova, said in an interview for Radio Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports.
“There will be used different instruments to encourage the economic entities with good performance in different sectors so that they become the prime movers in the consultations on the given areas. The companies will be able to benefit from financial resources for modernizing production and improving the quality of products and to access European funds from 2014,” said Octavian Calmic.
He also said that in concert with partners representing NGOs, they are teaching economic entities how to design business plans. Besides the European funds, they can also access money from the budgetary sector funds.
Within the free trade regime, the national companies will be able to export over 9,700 groups of goods without customs duties to the EU. Tariff quotas will be set on 30 groups of goods, mainly such sensitive products as fruit, vegetables, and wines. The quotas will be within the export potential of Moldova. If the potential increases, the quotas may be reviewed.
After the negotiations on the agreement are over, procedures will be performed to prepare it for signature, which can take place during the Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit of November.