Andrei Popov, Foreign Policy Association of Moldova: In the last days of May, Transnistrian leadership apparently changed its stance on customs issue, declaring that it will no longer stop local enterprises from registering in Moldova on the basis of new rules in force since March 3. Moreover, senior representatives of the region’s administration made several statements encouraging local economic operators to undergo permanent registration that would give them Moldovan certificates of origin, and consequently, the possibility to benefit from trade preferences. At the first glance, such a policy shift after months of staunchly rejecting this regime might seem (and is widely perceived in Moldova) as a major victory of Chisinau, Ukraine and the West over Tiraspol and Moscow, towards fulfilling a united customs space of the Republic of Moldova.

Tiraspol Softens its Stance on New Customs Regulations: a First or a Pyrrhic Victory? (PDF)