EU - Moldova Association Agreement
Association agreement with Moldova
Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova, of the one part, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the other part (AA) was signed on June 27, 2014 in Brussels, Belgium, provisionally implemented since September 1, 2014 and entered into force on July 1, 2016. The Agreement was ratified by the Moldovan Parliament on July 2, 2014 and by the European Parliament on November 13, 2014.
The AA contains binding provisions, regulatory rules and wider cooperation arrangements in all sectors of interest. Particular attention is given to the implementation and enforcement of the AA provisions, including by stipulating clear deadlines and establishing an appropriate institutional and administrative framework, thus creating the necessary conditions for effective implementation.
The main instrument for implementing the Association Agreement is the Association Agenda, negotiated with the European Commission. The Association Agenda replaces the Moldova-EU Action Plan under the EU's European Neighborhood Policy. The Association Agenda identifies the priority areas for implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement in the first three years after its entry into force.
In order to ensure the fulfillment of the commitments, the parties agreed to establish an institutional mechanism for monitoring the implementation, but also to take decisions on issues at the institutional level, thus the Association Council was created with the role of monitoring the implementation of the provisions, but also to periodically review the functioning of certain arrangements. The Council consists of representatives of the Council of the European Union, the European Commission and the Government of the Republic of Moldova. Decisions are taken by mutual agreement and are binding on the parties
The Association Council meets regularly, but not less than once a year at ministerial level.
In carrying out its functions, the Council shall be assisted by the Association Committee, which shall consist of representatives of the Parties at senior official level. The Association Committee may adopt binding decisions by virtue of express stipulations in the Agreement or by delegation from the Association Council.
Both the Association Council and the Association Committee are chaired alternately by a representative of the Union or the Moldovan Government.
The AA also establishes the creation of a Parliamentary Association Committee bringing together representatives of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the European Parliament. This Committee has the right to request information from the Association Council, to make recommendations to it and to establish parliamentary subcommittees.
In addition to this, the AA also entails the initiation of a Civil Society Platform as a forum for discussion between representatives of civil society from the Republic of Moldova and the EU.
TITLE IV. COOPERATION IN THE ECONOMIC AND OTHER SECTORS, Chapter 6 Statistics
As mentioned in Article 46 of this Agreement, the acquis Communautaire in the field of statistics is laid down in the annually updated Statistical Requirements Compendium, which is considered by the Parties as Annex to this AA.
The Parties will develop and strengthen cooperation on the statistical aspect, thus contributing to the long-standing objective of providing timely and reliable internationally comparable statistical data. A sustainable, efficient and professionally independent National Statistical System is expected to present relevant information to citizens, businesses and policy makers in the Republic of Moldova and the EU, enabling them to make informed decisions based on it. The national statistical systems shall comply with the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, taking into account the EU acquis in the field of statistics, including the European Statistics Code of Practice, in order to align the national statistical system with European norms and standards.
The Parties will cooperate within the European Statistical System where Eurostat is the European Statistical Authority.
The Parties will, inter alia, exchange information and experience and develop cooperation on the basis of the experience already gained in the reform of the Statistical System launched under various assistance programs. Efforts will be directed towards further alignment with the EU acquis in the field of statistics, based on the national strategy for the development of the statistical system of the Republic of Moldova and taking into account the development of the European Statistical System. Focus on the statistical data production process to be the further development of sample surveys and the use of administrative records, taking into account the need to reduce the response burden. For the design and monitoring of policies in key areas of social and economic life the data should be relevant.
Thus, a regular dialog shall be undertaken on matters covered by this Chapter. To the extent possible, activities undertaken in the framework of the European Statistical System, including training, shall be open to participation by the Republic of Moldova.
In accordance with Government Decision No. 808 of October 7, 2014, amended by Government Decision No. 713 of October 12, 2015, detailed information on the realization of each measure can be accessed on the online reporting platform PlanPro.
In order to implement the National Association Plan, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has successfully continued the dialogue with the EU partners, in particular with Eurostat and the statistical offices of the EU Member States in order to harmonize the national statistical system with the EU Acquis. In this respect, we would like to mention the annual participation in the Conference of European Statisticians (CES), the high-level seminar organized by the European Commission (EUROSTAT), as well as the exchange of experience between the statistical offices of the EU countries within the framework of technical assistance projects on the development of statistical know-how.
In line with the recommendations included in the Association Agenda, considerable efforts were made to finalize the 2014 Census of Population and Housing (RPL): the main results of the 2014 RPL were disseminated on March 31, 2017 on statistica.gov.md.
According to item 2.4 of the AA, the Law on official statistics, no. 93 of May 26, 2017, published in the Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova on 30.06.2017, no. 216-228, was adopted.
Law no. 93 on Official Statistics, the Republic of Moldova became the first country in the Eastern Partnership to adjust its regulatory framework in line with the Eurostat model law and EU Directives, a fact also noted by the EUROSTAT Director who visited Moldova in November 2017.
The Nomenclature of Territorial Statistical Units was approved by Government Decision no. 570 of 19.07.2017.
The methodology and collection of indicators on innovation statistics has been developed in line with EU requirements.
The statistical research on Transition from work into retirement according to EU rules (module to the Labor Force Survey) has been carried out.
The software for the collection, verification, processing, validation and extraction of energy statistical data was developed
Respectively, Article 46 of the Association Agreement is transposed into measure 2.4.1 of the Association Agenda by reviving the Statistical Council and including its work in the decision-making process, an action planned for the fourth quarter of 2016. In this regard, the National Statistical Council has been approved by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, pursuant to Article 9 of the Law No. 93 of May 26, 2017 on Official Statistics Government Decision on the National Statistical Council (No. 244 of March 21, 2018)
Since 2014, the Classification of Economic Activities of the Republic of Moldova rev. 2/NACE, rev.2 has been implemented in the national statistical system. Starting with 2015, the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA, 2008) was implemented.
The next logical step in the calculation of the main macroeconomic indicators is the implementation of the System of National Accounts 2008/European System of Accounts 2010 (SNA 2008/SEC2010). The major changes that took place in the above-mentioned classifiers and methodologies necessitated a revision of data collection methods in most of the surveys organized in enterprises. Thus, the SBS questionnaire since 2014 has been revised in line with the needs of the National Accounts specifically from the perspective of information collection corresponding to the new classifiers. Currently the SBS is the basic source for compiling national accounts by production method.
Following the actual implementation of the Methodology of the United Nations System of National Accounts, version 2008/European System of Accounts, version 2010 (UN-SNA-2008/SEC-2010), the publication "National and Regional Accounts 2016" was issued, which includes the non-financial national accounts for 2016 (with methodological definitions and clarifications), prepared in accordance with the methodology of the United Nations System of National Accounts, version 1993.
The CPI calculation methodology has been improved according to international standards. A new software has been developed for CPI calculation. The way of recording consumer prices of representative goods and services included in the CPI calculation has been improved by implementing the new software applied to the ARCHOS 80 tablets used by the census takers responsible for price collection.
Since 2014, according to the recommendations of the IMF mission, the expenditure weights used in the CPI calculation are estimated by applying household expenditure by statistical regions adjusted with household final consumption data from the National Accounts.
During 2015, the method of analyzing, processing and processing the primary information on consumer prices of goods and services included in the research for the calculation of the CPI was improved. The new CPI calculation software was improved by applying adjustments to the method of imputing missing prices for seasonal products and adjusting for the influence of product quality on consumer price developments. The CPI is also calculated according to the COICOP 2-4 sign structure. As recommended by the IMF expert, experimental calculations of CPI by statistical regions were carried out during 2015. Starting with January 2016, the CPI is calculated both at national level and for 4 statistical regions: North, Center, South and Chisinau municipality.
In 2014-2015, emphasis was placed on the development of the electronic dissemination of statistical information, which materialized in the permanent updating of statistics published on the NBS website, i.e.: press releases, publications, time series, etc. The statistical database is constantly updated, which facilitates the use of statistical indicators for users.
With the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and jointly with Unisim Soft SRL, a new complex of programs for the collection, verification, validation, processing, extraction and dissemination of statistical data on foreign trade in goods; calculation of unit value indices and physical volume indices for exported and imported goods was developed, tested and implemented. This complex of programs has been implemented as of December 1, 2016.
The Statistical Register (SR) contains the list of all active resident economic units and non-commercial units on the territory of the Republic of Moldova and is the sampling basis for organizing and conducting all organized enterprise surveys.
In 2015, a data exchange platform (M Conect) was implemented in the Republic of Moldova between public administration bodies, which is managed by the Electronic Governance Center (E-Government). The NBS is connected to this platform, which allows access to administrative data sources from all actors connected to this platform.
In terms of human resources policy, the continuous professional development of statistical staff is achieved through the following types of training: internal training (within the Authority), external training (outside the Authority) and self-learning. The further training process is carried out through various forms of training: short and long-term training courses, trainees, seminars, conferences, round tables, workshops. Thus, working together at the institutional level and supported by international projects, training is continuously carried out in order to improve the efficiency of the statistical field and professional performance.
In previous years, training activities were mainly carried out internally and under the aegis of international project assistance. In the recent cooperation of the National Bureau of Statistics with the EU Project "Improving Regional Statistics in the Republic of Moldova" (STATREG) and with the Statistical Office of Sweden, various service missions and training courses have been initiated to meet the requirements of the statistical field. The latter provide technical assistance to the NBS, aiming at strengthening the network of statistical professionals, and the results in terms of training capacity are positive and conclusive.
In order to maintain a high level of training and competence in the field, further use is being made of existing trainings and direct collaboration with international projects that provide the opportunity to learn about and implement the latest and most successful international practices.
EU-Moldova cooperation 2004-2009