Vlad Filat and Štefan Füle sign Memorandum on Comprehensive International Capacity Strengthening Program

Prime Minister Vlad Filat and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle signed a Memorandum on the Comprehensive International Capacity Strengthening Program in Chisinau on May 15. Under the document, Moldova will receive over €40 million in 2011-2013, Info-Prim Neo reports. At practical level, the program envisions the provision of equipment, technical assistance, training programs, academic programs, experience exchange, exchange of experts between Moldovan and EU institutions. Among the beneficiaries of the programs are the State Chancellor’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the General Inspectorate on Phytosanitary Supervision and Seed Control, the National Agency for the Protection of Competition, the Public Procurement Agency, the State Agency on Intellectual Property, the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime, and the Prosecutor General’s Office. The Premier said that the European integration is a national priority and the Government began a reformation process aimed at achieving this objective. “We pledged to implement a series of economic and other kinds of reforms. Regardless of the political developments, we take consistent steps to attain the set goals as the reforms we launched are important first of all for the Moldovan people,” Vlad Filat said Commissioner Štefan Füle said the signed agreement is a very important instrument. “It represents a small part of our plenary commitment to Moldova. This program will enable the country to strengthen its institutional capacities,” the European official stated, adding that it will also help bring Transnistria closer to Moldova and the EU. Štefan Füle said that the next meeting of the Cooperation Council will take place on July 15, which will be a significant day in the EU-Moldova relations. “The talks on the liberalization of the visa regime will open on the same day,” he stressed.