​EU DELEGATION HEAD MEETS TIRASPOL LEADER

Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, visited Tiraspol on Monday, where he met Yevgeny Shevchuk, the president of the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldovan Republic.

According to the Transnistrian presidential website, the sides exchanged opinions on essential questions of bilateral relationship, in particular in trade and economic sphere.

Speaking of the access to the European market for Transnistria-made goods, Yevgeny Shevchuk underlined the importance of the compromise reached between Transnistria and the European Union in trade issues.

“This is a serious achievement in the bilateral cooperation. For Transnistrian economic operators, the European market is very important, particularly in the current conditions of a regional economic crisis. We are interested in broadening trade with all neighbors. Any economy is interested to have broader possibilities for trade with the whole world and particularly with next-door, traditional markets”, said Yevgeny Shevchuk.

A special attention was attached to questions related to customs duties on the raw materials imported by Transnistrian producers. Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola informed the Transnistrian leader about the efforts made by the European side to resolve the problems existing in this sphere.

The interlocutors discussed also the questions related to the negotiations between Transnistria and the Republic of Moldova.

As already reported by Infotag, the Transnistrian authorities refused to accede to the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, in particular to its essential-most component – the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), having chosen a strategic course for the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. Nevertheless, the European Union decided to make a step towards Transnistria and agreed to duty-free supplies of Transnistria-made goods until the end of 2016. After that, Transnistria will also have to cancel duties on goods from the European Union, otherwise the free trade regime will be cancelled.