Mihai Ghimpu Chisinau aims at the soonest signing of an associated membership agreement with the European Union. Hopefully, the document will be signed this year, Moldovan Acting President and Parliament Speaker Mihai Ghimpu said on national radio.

"The agreement may be signed before the end of this year or early next year. Yet Moldova will remain a member of the Eastern Partnership program, which gives it access to funds necessary for covering the budget deficit and restoring the economy," he said.

"This document is a priority" of the ruling Alliance for European Integration, Ghimpu said.

"The new administration will hold reforms, which will enable Moldova to become an associated member of the European Union," he said.

"We need money to cover the budget deficit and to meet other needs. At the same time, Moldova will get access to European funds if it signs a memorandum with the International Monetary Fund. An IMF mission will arrive in Chisinau on October 14," he said.

"Terms suggested by the mission may cause dissatisfaction of some residents," Ghimpu said, without going into details.

"Moldova will have to accept these terms, because they result from the policy of the previous administration," he said.