Expert-Grup

Five Years of Implementation: Alternative Report on Main Progress, Constraints and Priorities in Implementing the Moldova–European Union Association Agreement

Wednesday, 30 October 20192236 views
Five Years of Implementation: Alternative Report on Main Progress, Constraints and Priorities in Implementing the Moldova–European Union Association Agreement

Automatically translated summary. The full article is available in Romanian.

The Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” and the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE) presented their Alternative Report on five years of implementing the EU-Moldova Association Agreement (2014-2019). The event, attended by officials, diplomats, civil society and media, was supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The report finds that sectoral cooperation with the EU has strengthened, notably in research, innovation and education, and that foreign and security policy cooperation has deepened. The visa-free regime, launched on 28 April 2014, multiplied the benefits. However, democratic institutions, the rule of law and judicial independence have not changed clearly, which severely affected the quality of EU-Moldova dialogue.

Thanks to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, the EU is Moldova's main economic partner: about 70% of exports go to the EU, and imports from it are almost 50%. The net impact of exports is estimated at over 367 million euro, more than 15,000 jobs, 5% higher budget revenues and 320 million euro in private investment. Officials stressed stability, clear political will and sustained effort to realise the Agreement's full potential.

View the original article in Romanian