The only reference to the Transnistrian region in the Moldova-EU Plan of Action is that the whole population of Moldova should be provided with biometric passports, including the residents of the eastern districts, said Deputy Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman. The Transnistrians included in the civil registers of Moldova until 1999 will obtain biometric passports on request. The others will be able to apply for and obtain Moldovan nationality, Natalia Gherman said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. When the Moldova-EU Plan of Action expires, there will be signed an interim agreement that will contain the results achieved in negotiating the Association Agreement. Natalia Gherman said in the seventh round of the talks on the Association Agreement that will take place in June, they will continue to discuss the preamble and the general principles and objectives contained in this document. The deputy minister also said that the Association Agreement will be signed only after the talks on the creation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Moldova and the European Union are completed. “We will open the negotiations on the creation of the free trade regime in the second half of this year, under the Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union. I cannot say how long these negotiations will last as it is a complex process. They may last for up to two years,” said Natalia Gherman. “In mid June, Moldova will submit the second progress report. The EU is to approve the opening of the talks on the creation of the Free Trade Area with Moldova and the first round will be then scheduled.” The talks on the signing of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement were launched on January 12, 2010. The sixth round was held on April 11, 2011.