- OBJECTIVE: interim agreement between the EC, the ECSC and EURATOM, of the one part, and
the Republic of Moldova, of the other part, on trade and trade-related matters, pending the entry into
force of the EC-Moldova partnership and cooperation agreement.
- COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Decision No 96/161/EC on the conclusion by the EC of the
interim agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the EC, the ECSC and Euratom, of the
one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part.
- SUBSTANCE: pending ratification of the partnership and cooperation agreement concluded
between the EC and Moldova, signed in Brussels on 28 November 1994, an interim agreement is
approved with a view to applying, on a temporary basis, the trade-related section of the general
partnership agreement.
The present agreement, signed in Luxembourg on 2 October 1995, suspends the trade-related
provisions of the trade and economic cooperation agreement concluded in 1989 between the
Community and the USSR, insofar as they relate specifically to Moldova.
The agreement is based on respect for democracy and human rights and contains provisions relating
to the following main areas:
- trade in goods: most-favoured nation clause, the principle of free transit of goods;
- the authorization of current account payments in freely convertible currency, the application of the
principle of free competition and improved protection of intellectual property rights (with the aim
being to provide a level of protection similar to that provided in the Community within five years
of the agreement's entry into force);
- the Joint Committee set up by the cooperation agreement between the EEC and the USSR will be
responsible for performing all the duties assigned to it by this agreement with regard to Moldova.
- ENTRY INTO FORCE: the agreement will enter into force two months after the parties have given
notification that the necessary procedures for its approval have been completed.
It will be applicable until the entry into force of the main partnership and cooperation agreements.�