The Republic of Moldova is close to advancing the relations with the European Union, the outgoing president of Moldova Vladimir Voronin said during the summit of SEECP heads of state and government on June 5. He stressed that Moldova expects that the future relations with the EU will be of a new, better quality than under the existent Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The initiation of talks over a new association agreement, establishment of a common and definite free trade area, considerable simplification and gradual liberalization of the visa regime for the Moldovan citizens are the priorities of the political dialogue between Moldova and the EU,” Vladimir Voronin said. The president also said that the European integration policy is an irreversible objective of Moldova’s policy. Steps are taken to implement the European standards in order to strengthen the democratic institutions, the state of law and the business environment in Moldova,” Voronin stressed. The agenda of the summit includes discussions on the situation in the region, the progress made by the SEECP countries on the path to European interaction and the cooperation with NATO, strengthening of the SEECP as regional organization. Among the documents that are to be approved at the summit are the yearly report of the secretary general of the Regional Cooperation Council, the strategic work program of the Regional Cooperation Council for 2009-2010, the report of the Moldovan presidency of the SEECP, the political statement of the SEECP meeting in Chisinau and the Chisinau joint statement of the heads of state and government. Moldova became a member of the SEECP in May 2006. On May 21, 2008, it took over the presidency of the SEECP for 2008-2009. During this period, Moldova represented 11 Southeastern European countries at regional, European and international level. The SEECP is an international initiative that brings together 11 countries from Southeastern Europe. It aims to obtain stability in the region by supporting the member states in their efforts to promote democracy, the respect for human rights and economic development. The SEECP member states are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.