The European Commission unveiled, on Thursday 9 June, a regulation to temporarily improve market access for seven products from Moldova still subject to tariff quotas when entering the EU.
Virtually all Moldovan products can already enter the EU duty-free under the EU/Moldova Free Trade Agreement in force since 2014. The proposed measures concern the seven remaining products: plums (25,000 tonnes), table grapes (38,000 tonnes), apples (40,000 tonnes), tomatoes (2,000 tonnes), garlic (220 tonnes), cherries (1,500 tonnes) and grape juice (500 tonnes).
The proposed regulation also provides for a doubling, for a period of one year, of the quantity of such products originating in Moldova that can be imported duty-free into the EU. Potential duty-free volumes will now amount to about €55 million, of which about €10 million for plums and €27 million for table grapes.
In doing so, the EU aims to help Moldova cope with the loss of its main markets and transit centres for these agricultural products due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In a statement, the Commission says it is ready to discuss with the Moldovan authorities a full liberalisation of bilateral trade.
The proposal must now be discussed and approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
See the proposal for a regulation: https://aeur.eu/f/219 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)