From 3 to 4 December, a regional workshop for "Selected Madrid Member Offices from Eastern Europe and Surrounding Regions on the Transition to Extensible Markup Language (XML) Data Exchange and Application Programming Interface (API)" was held in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. 
The regional workshop was organized in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the State Agency for Intellectual Property of the Republic of Moldova (AGEPI), and with the support of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).
During the workshop, representatives of selected offices of the Madrid Union member countries made speeches. The positions of member countries on the necessity of using XML and the possibilities of API development were discussed. The experiences of the member countries on the discussed topics were presented.
During the workshop, the issue of using the electronic system of applications submitted according to the national procedure was also discussed. Suggestions were made to establish a system of state fee discounts for applications submitted electronically in order to encourage applicants.