Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made in implementing the Association Agreement between the EU and Moldova.

Moldova has made a promising start on implementation of the ambitious political, governance and economic reforms agreed under the EU-Moldova Association Agreement, which was provisionally applied from September 2014 and entered into force on 1 July 2016 following ratification by all EU Member States. The Association Agreement which, includes the introduction of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, supports Moldova's economic growth by providing both EU market access and an impetus for modernising reforms. The key sectors where reforms are needed include the rule of law and judicial sector reform, a reformed public sector administration, and financial and banking sector reform.

The British Government monitors progress closely and encourages and supports the Moldovan Government to maintain momentum across the board, and in particular on judicial reform and in tackling corruption where more work is needed by Moldova to further embed democratic institutions. The UK's Good Governance Fund (GGF) is funding a project to provide easy access to the general public, media and the business sector on the implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the aim of stimulating corresponding trade opportunities.