Štefan Füle optimistic about signing of Association Agreement

The encouraging outcome of the first round of negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade area signaled that the completion of a comprehensive EU-Moldova Association Agreement was within reach, European Commissioner Štefan Füle said after a meeting with Prime Minister Vlad Filat, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a press release from the EU Delegation to Moldova. ”I met today with Vlad Filat, to take stock of our bilateral relations. We discussed our joint objectives for the forthcoming period. The meeting was very timely coming less than two weeks after the Moldovan Parliament elected a President of the Republic. I wish to use this opportunity to congratulate all the citizens of the Republic of Moldova on this important event. It paves the way for restoring the cohesion of Moldovan society,” he stated. He congratulated Vlad Filat on the positive dynamics of the Moldova-EU relations and in particular on two important bilateral events which took place last week. “First, the revision of our visa facilitation agreement will further ease, for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, the procedure for obtaining Schengen visas, and make them cheaper in more cases. Second, the encouraging outcome of the first round of our negotiations on a deep and comprehensive free trade area signaled that the completion of a comprehensive EU-Moldova Association Agreement was within reach. In the future, when the Agreement comes into force, it will provide for deep regulatory approximation and full economic integration with the EU market. Moldovan businesses will thus benefit from unrestricted access to a single market of 500 million citizens,” said Štefan Füle. Against this background, the discussions focused on the reform plans of the Moldovan government for the rest of the term of the current Parliament. “With greater political stability at hand, I encouraged the Prime Minister to stick to ambitious objectives that will, in line with the aim of the Eastern Partnership, bring the Republic of Moldova ever closer to the European Union in terms of respect for our shared democratic values, economic performance and social welfare. On this path, the Republic of Moldova is already setting a positive example in many areas,” said the European official.