Moldova's wine producers could get greater access to EU countries under the plans

European trade barriers against wine from Moldova could be dropped sooner than expected under European Commission (EC) proposals.

The EC is planning to open up the market for Moldova's producers, ahead of a previously negotiated free-trade agreement that is set to take effect next month. The move is designed to ease the pressure on Moldova's wine sector, after Russia last month introduced a ban on imports of its spirits and wines.

Under current restrictions, Moldovan wine imports into the EU are limited to 240,000 hectolitres per year.

However, the EC must first get approval from the Council of Ministers and European Parliament.

"The European Union's market is a sustainable alternative and a viable pole of stability for the Moldovan wine sector,” said Dacian Ciolos, the EC's commissioner for Agriculture & Rural Development.

“A fully opened EU market for Moldovan wines in a time when Moldovan farmers are in difficulty, reflects that, beyond being a very successful economic integration project, the EU is also a space of solidarity.”