Moldovan deputy premier, European officials discuss Transnistrian region's economic aspects

Chisinau, 7 April /MOLDPRES/ - Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Balan on 6 April participated in a meeting with Head of Unit at the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission Petros Sourmelis, accompanied by Head of the European Union Delegation in Moldova Pirkka Tapiola. The officials discussed aspects on the implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) on the entire territory of Moldova, including the Transnistrian region.        

Referring to the economic situation in the region, Gheorghe Balan said that the economic agents from the left bank of Dniester presently benefit from a string of facilities provided by the Moldovan authorities, as well as from a preferential trade regime in relation with the sales markets of the European Union.

At the meeting, the sides also approached the subject on joint control at the Moldovan-Ukrainian state border. In this context, Deputy Prime Minister Gheorghe Balan stressed that the initiative was not a unilateral destructive measure, just as the so-called Tiraspol leaders put it. Balan specified that this bilateral cooperation between Moldova and Ukraine would contribute to simplifying the procedures of persons’ border control and goods’ customs clearance, streamlining the road traffic, removing negative phenomena at the border, and would eventually bring economic benefits to the sides.     

At the same time, the deputy premier told the officials that an information campaign on the advantages of the joint control was already underway. In this way, the residents and the economic agents of the Transnistrian region will be informed about aspects of interest on this subject.

In the end of the meeting, Gheorghe Balan said that the Moldovan authorities were open for a constructive dialogue with the Tiraspol representatives, stressing the consolidated position of all national services involved in the Transnistrian settlement process.

The visit by the European officials is a continuation of the discussions held at the third meeting of the EU – Moldova Association Council, conducted in Brussels on 31 March this year, and concerned topics of interest through the light of the DCFTA component.