Moldova

Moldovans to travel to Romania without visa in border's proximity

November 17, 2009

Subscribe to: RSS, Email

Over one million citizens from Moldovan-Romanian border zone to be able to travel to Romania with small-distance permit

About 1.2 million Moldova's citizens with residence in the settlements within a radius of 30 km from the Moldovan-Romanian border will be able to travel to Romania on the basis of passport and small-distance movement permit. Romania's diplomatic and consular mission in Moldova will issue the permit to the citizens free of charge for a 2-5-year period.

As many as 369 villages, which include 651 settlements from 18 districts and the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, southern Moldova, will benefit from the stipulations of an agreement on small-distance cross-border movement, signed in Bucharest on 13 November 2009.

Prime Minister Vlad Filat made statements to this effect at a today's news conference.

Filat specified that the citizens from the administrative and territorial units which are partially situated within a radius of 30-50 km from the border with Romania will also benefit from the provisions of the agreement on small-distance cross-border movement. Thus, if a mayoralty is 30 km far from the Moldovan-Romanian border, and the areas of this mayoralty are extended up to 50 km, then all the settlements of the mayoralty are under the action of this agreement. The people with the small-distance movement permit will be able to enter Romania at a distance of up to 50 km.

Most likely, the Moldovan citizens will be able to go to Romania on the basis of the small-distance movement permit till late 2009, after the domestic procedures of approving this agreement are fulfilled in a short period, Vlad Filat said.

The prime minister stressed that, within meetings with Romanian officials, the sides agreed "to re-launch the discussions at the level of experts so as to sign the agreements on the basic and border treaties between Moldova and Romania." The sides also took decisions on organising joint meetings of the Moldovan and Romanian governments, due to be held twice a year.

Vlad Filat also said that Moldova and Romania agreed on actions to open Romanian consulates in Balti and Cahul, northern and southern Moldova, respectively, as soon as possible. The sides discussed the opening of a consular point of Romania in Ungheni, western Moldova, as well. On 18 November, experts from the Moldovan Foreign and European Integration Ministry will go to Iasi, eastern Romania, to identify technical aspects to inaugurate a Moldovan consulate in Iasi, Filat also said.

Prime Minister Filat said that, in Bucharest, the sides also agreed on an action plan on the opening of a bridge Radauti-Lipcani, northern Moldova, as soon as possible, as well as other bridges across the Prut river, which will facilitate the access of citizens from northern Moldova to Romania.

Prime Minister Vlad Filat was on a 13-14 November visit to Bucharest to participate in a summit of heads of government from the Central European Initiative member states. Afterwards, he paid a working visit to Romania.

Moldpres, Moldova's State news agency

Images

Moldova

Transnistrian conflict

Important world events