Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement will be singed in a year and a half

The negotiations on the signing of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement are projected to be finished by the next Eastern Partnership summit, i.e. by September 2013. Thus, the agreements will be signed in a year and a half, European Commissioner for Trade Karel de Gucht said after the meeting with Prime Minister Vlad Filat, Info-Prim Neo reports. “Both Moldova and the EU have the same ambitious objectives. Since 2009, our relations have improved. Moldova’s exports to the EU during the last few years exceeded imports. Work is yet to be done to improve the quality of the products, especially the diary and meat products, so that they are competitive on the European market,” said the European official. He stressed that after the agreement is signed, Moldova will enjoy a series of advantages in the trade with the EU. The period planned for negotiations will help Moldova overcome certain barriers that does not allow it to be competitive on the European market. “The term of one year and a half is a record time, but it is an achievable objective. In this period, we will subsidize the national producers and will work to enhance technology,” Vlad Filat said in a news conference, adding the Government is prepared for the negotiations. The first round of negotiations on the agreement was set for March 18.