Economy Ministry prepares for talks on free trade agreement with EU

The Moldovan Ministry of Economy has completed a questionnaire with over 100 questions on 26 pages, as a prerequisite before starting talks with the EU on an extended Free Trade Agreement later this year, Inga Ionesi, department head at the Ministry, told a press conference on Wednesday. An assessment mission from the European Commission is expected in Chisinau soon. According to Inga Ionesi, the signing of the extended Free Trade Agreement implies the liberalization of trade concomitantly with deeper structural reforms, which will lead to a boost in the foreign investors' confidence in Moldova's economy. Concerning the period of time during which the agreement will be negotiated, Inga Ionesi said they depend on the speed with which Moldova will implement the reforms. Speaking about the quotas offered this year by the EU under the the autonomous trade preferences, Inga Ionesi said that in the first three months the quotas on wheat and corn were fulfilled at about 40 percent, on barley at 35 percent and on wine at 25 percent. In 2009, quotas on wine and wheat were fulfilled 100 percent, on sugar and corn at 90 percent, on barley at 83 percent. Exports to the EU in 2009 stood at $678.5 million, or 53.3 percent of the total.