Not a single Moldovan citizen has so far applied for a permit allowing access to Romania under the recently signed Convention on Small-Scale Border Traffic, Ionel Dumitru, counselor at the Romanian Embassy in Chisinau, has told Info-Prim Neo. At this point, applications may be submitted only in Chisinau, at the Embassy's consular section on Vlaicu Parcalab Str. Romanian Interior Minister Vasile Blaga on Tuesday announced the Convention is to take effect on February 26 and that the Moldovans applying for these permits will receive them within 60 days from submission. No fees will be charged on the issuance of the permits until Romania joins the Schengen zone. Afterward, fees will be fixed with the agreement of the European Commission. The Convention on Small-Scale Border Traffic was signed in November 2009 in Bucharest. It allows Moldovan citizens who reside within 50 kilometers from the Romanian border to travel to the neighboring country without a visa, using a 2 to 5 year-valid permit instead. Initially the Convention was supposed to take effect in late March, but sources in the Moldovan Government have told Info-Prim Neo that the earlier date announced by Bucharest is pleasing.