More than 100 representatives of small and medium-sized companies could inform themselves about the benefits of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) that forms part of the Association Agreement signed by Moldova with the EU. In an event staged by the Ministry of Economy, businessmen could put questions directly to representatives of the authorities and the development partners, IPN reports.

In the opening of the event, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Octavian Calmac said the Ministry and the European Union strengthened their communication capacities so as to inform the business entities of Moldova about the possibilities offered by the DCFTA and methods of solving problems that can appear at the initial stage of delivery of goods and services to the EU market.

“We do not call on the business entities that established good relations with the traditional partners to give them up. We offer an alternative and want you to know more about the possibilities offered by the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU,” stated the minister.

The Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Pirkka Tapiola said the identification of new commercial partners will be facilitated by the knowledge of the norms applied by the EU on the export of products and services. He called upon the participants in the conference to use all the available means to inform themselves in this regard.

Within the discussions, the business entities invoked the difficult procedures for obtaining product compliance certificates and the doubling of particular documents in the case of imports. It was noted that the Customs Service last year took a series of measures, including the introduction of the electronic statement on export, while starting with 2016 on import as well. However, some of the businessmen presented success stories as regards the penetration of the EU market and the opportunities of the DCFTA.