European Parliament approves the decision to extend trade liberalization measures for Moldova for another 1 year.
As noted in the report of the European Parliament, in particular, MEPs with 459 votes "for", 65 - "against" and 57 abstentions agreed to the suspension of all import duties and quotas for the supply of products from Moldova for another 1 year: from July 25, 2024 to July 24, 2025. As noted, Russia's illegal military aggression against Ukraine also hit Moldova hard, as it relied heavily on Ukrainian transit routes and infrastructure for its own exports. Earlier trade liberalization measures allowed Moldova to redirect some of its trade with the rest of the world through the EU. Most Moldovan exports already benefit from duty-free access to the EU market under the Association Agreement. Following the European Parliament's decision to extend trade liberalization measures for Moldova for another 1 year, this decision must be approved by EU governments in the framework of the EU Council. In practice, the adopted decision means that the export to the EU of 7 categories of agricultural products from Moldova, which are subject to tariff quotas, will remain fully liberalized: tomatoes, garlic, table grapes, apples, cherries, plums and grape juice. The Moldovan government welcomes the EU's decision to liberalize trade for Moldova for another 1 year, noting that in 2023, more than 65% of Moldovan exports went to the EU. Since July 2022, Moldovan producers have been facilitated to export table grapes, tomatoes, garlic, apples, cherries, plums and grape juice to the EU. The EU-Moldova trade liberalization measures approved by the European Parliament will take effect after the final decision of the European Council and after the expiration of the current suspension of import duties and quotas (July 24), which means that the decision will take effect on July 25. The Co-Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Moldova-EU Association, Siegfried Muresan, said that with its decision, the European Parliament proves that it is united in quickly approving all forms of support for Moldova, and the current vote came just a few weeks after the European Commission published its legislative proposal to extend trade liberalization measures with Moldova for another 1 year. "We took the first decision to liberalize trade with Moldova 2 years ago in order to accelerate the country's European integration and reduce the impact of the war launched by Russia in Ukraine on Moldovan producers and exporters. We see that Moldova is becoming more and more integrated into the European Union and is preparing to start accession negotiations. That is why we want economic ties with Moldova to develop as much and as fast as possible, and we want Moldovan entrepreneurs to benefit as much as possible from getting closer to the EU. Many products from Moldova, especially fruits and vegetables, are valued on markets throughout the EU. The decision to extend liberalization, which will allow Moldova to export these products to the entire European market, is beneficial both for Moldova and the European market," Siegfried Muresan wrote on his social network page. // 14.03.2024 – InfoMarket
