EC concludes two agreements with Moldova

The member countries of the European Union granted authority to the European Commission to conclude two agreements with Moldova: regarding facilitation of visa regime for Moldovan citizens and regarding readmission, first Secretary of EC delegation to Moldova, Paolo Berizzi, stated Tuesday, December 19, at a press conference, organized in concert with Chisinau representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The EC official did not give details in this respect, noting that additional information on this topic is to be presented next days. Head of EC delegation to Moldova, Cezare de Montis earlier stated that the EU received the member states’ permission to start talks with Chisinau authorities regarding the facilitation of visa regime for Moldovan citizens. At the same time, he mentioned that EU member countries should partly decide on granting visas in facilitated regime for Moldovan residents. As the signing of such an agreement does not mean that the Moldovans can freely travel throughout Schengen space, the official said that the EC is wiling to replace the impossibility to freely travel using more contacts “person to person”, mentioning that such contacts can be ensured thanks to the Moldovan young peoples’ access to a larger number of scholarships in EU, actively participating in European scientific research programmes for youth etc. Earlier in November the Government approved a National Action Plan that provides for starting negotiations with EU countries regarding the facilitation of visa regime for the Moldovans. Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Stratan mentioned that negotiations are planned to start by the end of the year and will be carried on in 2007 and 2008.