EU visa liberalization mission comes to Moldova next month

The first mission that will assess the situation for opening talks on the visa liberalization regime with the EU will be working in Chisinau between March 1 and 3, Deputy Foreign Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Iurie Leanca announced Thursday. According to Leanca, the European experts will aim to identify the shortcomings and analyze the prospects of starting and finishing the negotiations. In a news conference, Iurie Leanca spoke about the results of the diplomatic work this year, mentioning the opening of the talks on the Association Agreement with the EU and the good preparation level of the Moldovan negotiations. As to Moldova's European integration, the foreign minister said that the informal group of friends has extended and includes now such important EU member states as France, Germany, the UK and Italy. Leanca also said that the recent visit paid by the Moldovan delegation headed by Prime Minister Vlad Filat to the U.S. was a success as it gave a new impetus to the political and commercial bilateral relations and they managed to obtain financial support. The minister also said that measures were taken to build pragmatic relations based on mutual interests with Russian so as to tackle a number of problems, including the Transnistrian dispute. Leanca stressed that the relations with Romania improved significantly, especially after President Traian Basescu's visit to Chisinau.