The extended meeting of Working Group 7 “Intellectual Property Law” (GL7) was held on November 5, 2026, in a hybrid format, organized by the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI), as the coordinating institution for Chapter 7 of the National Accession Program of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union (PNA) 2025–2029.

The meeting was mainly dedicated to the launch of the process of updating the NAP for the intellectual property area, addressing the stages of this exercise, the methodological requirements, the expectations for the contributions of the WG7 members, as well as the work schedule for the development and validation of the updated version of Chapter 7.

The process of updating the NAP 2025–2029 was launched at the national level, with the extensive involvement of public authorities, business representatives and civil society. To this end, public consultations were organized for all negotiation clusters, including Cluster 2 – Internal Market, which also includes Chapter 7 “Intellectual Property Law”, the related consultations taking place on 3 November 2026.

In this context, the WG7 meeting aimed to present the general framework and requirements of the updating process, as well as to mobilize the member institutions to formulate concrete, relevant and well-founded proposals. The exercise involves a sustained effort of coordination and interinstitutional involvement, within an intense work schedule, in line with the deadlines set by the Government for the completion of the NAP update.

An important benchmark for this process is the European Commission’s Enlargement Report for 2026 [1], published on 4 November 2026, which provides guidance on the areas in which the Republic of Moldova must continue to focus its efforts to accelerate its preparation for accession to the European Union. The European Commission’s recommendations are to be reflected in the priorities and actions proposed for the coming period, including in the field of intellectual property.

The meeting was chaired by Natalia Mogol, Deputy Director of AGEPI and Chair of Working Group 7. At the opening of the meeting, she presented the main findings and recommendations of the European Commission for the field of intellectual property, underlining the importance of using on the progress made and of consistently addressing the issues that still require interventions and reform efforts.

According to the European Commission’s assessment, the Republic of Moldova has a moderate to good level of preparation in the field of intellectual property rights. Progress was appreciated in aligning the national legislative framework with the European Union acquis, strengthening institutional capacities, improving the supervision of collective management organizations, strengthening the cooperation of AGEPI with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, as well as the integration of the Republic of Moldova into the European Patent Organization.

At the same time, the European Commission reiterated the need for continuing aligning national legislation with the EU acquis, including in the field of industrial designs and trademarks, strengthening intellectual property rights enforcement mechanisms by implementing the National Action Plan in this area, as well as improving the collective rights management system, in order to ensure the appropriate payment of remuneration to rightholders.

The progress made in implementing the actions related to Chapter 7 of the NAP, with a focus on the state of alignment of the national legislative framework with the European Union acquis, including developments in promoting the legislative agenda set out in Annex A of Chapter 7, as well as progress made in implementing the measures and actions included in Annex B of the same chapter were presented within the framework of the meeting.

Referring to the responsibility of member institutions in the updating process, AGEPI reiterated the call for the members of the WG7 to demonstrate their involvement and present concrete proposals, so that the updated contribution for Chapter 7 comprehensively reflects the priorities of the Republic of Moldova in the field of intellectual property. These should aim at both implementing the measures necessary to meet the benchmarks for the closure of negotiations on Chapter 7 and strengthening the capacities of the national intellectual property system for the full application of European Union standards and requirements.

Thus, a special emphasis will be placed on preparing the entire community to operate in an intellectual property system aligned with European standards, by involving all relevant categories: from authorities and the business environment, to creators, authors, rightholders and professionals in the field, from advanced users of the intellectual property system to the general public, including students and pupils.

In order to ensure a structured and coordinated process, the GL7 members agreed on the work schedule for the development, consultation and validation of the GL7 contribution to the update of Chapter 7 of the NAP. The meeting was attended by representatives of public authorities, business, academic environment and the associative sector.