Moldova completes fourth round of talks on Association Agreement

The fourth, and last round of negotiations this year, on the reforms carried out by Moldova towards signing an Association Agreement with the European Union completed on Thursday, October 14, in Chisinau. Moldova's Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca told a news conference on this occasion that this year has been crucial for the dialogue between Moldova and the European Union, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the foreign minister, this dialogue was possible due to an opening shown by the EU institutions as well as to a strong political will on the part of the Moldovan government. “I trust that this activity of forging not just a common juridical and commercial space, but also a common destiny, will be continued in the weeks and months to come”, said Leanca. Gunnar Wiegand, the head of the EU's negotiating mission, said that this year has seen enormous progress in the cooperation and negotiation between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union. The negotiations take place in 4 working groups. The first group, which is also the first one to complete the process, is the group for interpersonal relations. The second group, responsible for political dialogue, cooperation in foreign and security policy, has already covered a big number of items on the agenda, with a few issues concerning regional security and the Transnistrian conflict still remaining. The group responsible for justice, freedom and security, has finalized negotiations on personal data protection, cooperation in areas of migration, asylum, border management and combating of terrorism. The remaining issues are related to people's mobility, which depend on the progress of the dialogue on the facilitation of visa requirements. The fourth group, responsible for economic, sectoral and financial cooperation, has temporarily closed 18 out of 22 negotiation chapters. The fifth round of talks on the Association Agreement will be held on a date around January 13, 2011, in Brussels.