With the prospect of free trade with the E.U. in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Sept. 12 that it is providing support to businesses so they can take full advantage of unrestricted access to the world’s largest market.

The EBRD along with the E.U. are helping enterprises improve production and processes, adapt to E.U. standards and become more competitive in new export markets.

Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have signed Association Agreements with the E.U. that foresee the establishment of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between each country and the E.U. The DCFTA allow the countries access to the E.U.’s internal market in selected sectors and gives E.U. investors the same regulatory environment in the associated country as in the E.U.

Georgia signed its Association Agreement on June 27, 2014, and it took effect July 1 of this year. Ukraine’s Association Agreement has been provisionally applied since November 2014, and its DCFTA has been provisionally applied since Jan. 1 of this year. Moldova’s Association Agreement has been applied provisionally since Sept. 1, 2014.

The EBRD is providing finance to small and medium-sized enterprises in all three countries, supported by the E.U. with a risk-sharing model.

“The DCFTA creates unique opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to export to the E.U., with stable and predictable preferential access to the largest market in the world,” said Johannes Hahn, E.U. Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. “At the same time, the new framework requires firms to make the necessary investments and to set up the right conditions to comply with higher technical standards involved and to encourage new business relationships.”

Read more at World-Grain.com.