In order to make use of the opportunities of the free trade with the EU, Moldova should have a competitive economy, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar, who Tuesday met with Luc Devigne, chief negotiator of the European Commission for the signing of the Deep and Compressive Free Trade Agreement with the EU, IPN reports.
According to a communiqué from the Ministry of Economy, Valeriu Lazar said that Moldova managed to negotiate the opening of the most prosperous market of the world – of the European Union – to the Moldovan goods, but the Free Trade Area with the EU also means the opening of the domestic market to European products. In order to benefit from this agreement, the Moldovan economic entities will have to learn to cope with the competition from European producers.
“We should find a balance between the liberalization of the bilateral trade and the implementation of support programs for companies in order to increase the competitiveness of the Moldovan economy. The commercial protection instruments of the home market can only help the companies, not yet substitute the businesses’ internal capacity for dealing with competition,” said Valeriu Lazar.
He underlined that the Deep and Compressive Free Trade Area between Moldova and the EU means not only extended commercial relations, but also creation of attractive conditions for investments. In this respect, the Ministry of Economy designed a road map for increasing the competitiveness of the national economy. It will be proposed for public debates the coming days.
Luc Devigne said that Moldova made the fastest progress among the EaP member states, closing the negotiations on the agreement in only 16 months. It also succeeded in obtaining advantageous conditions, including an adequate transition period for certain sensitive sectors.
According to the European official, the signing of the agreement will significantly improve Moldova’s export capacity, after the EU sanitary and phytosanitary requirements are met and the technical barriers to trade are removed. The EU is preparing a package of assistance for strengthening the institutional capacities of the Moldovan authorities and for the economic sectors that will need support.
