On Thursday, 14 July, MPs voted in first reading on the draft law on the denunciation of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Free Trade in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).According to the authors of the document, this treaty has lost its relevance once Moldova has embarked on an extensive process of bringing its standards into line with EU rules.

“Following the implementation of Chapter 3 Title V Trade and Trade-related matters of the Moldova-EU Association Agreement, Moldova has taken the necessary steps to progressively ensure the compliance of domestic policy with EU objectives in the areas of technical regulations, standards, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment and market surveillance,” the draft information note states. As a result, the system implemented by Moldova in the field of technical barriers to trade differs essentially from the systems of CIS countries,” the document says.

According to Parliament, the denunciation of the agreement will not have any political consequences at the internal, regional and multilateral level, nor financial-economic ones, as Moldova has no financial or other obligations that would have arisen during its validity and which have not been extinguished.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration will notify the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States of the denunciation of the Agreement.

The draft will also be put to the vote at second reading. The law is expected to enter into force on the date of publication in the Official Monitor of Moldova.