Q:
A:
Serbia to join WTO in two to three years
Belgrade,
25 March 2005
Assistant Minister of International Economic Relations Dusko Lopandic said today that it is realistic to expect that Serbia will join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and become EU candidate at the same time.
Dusko Lopandic
Lopandic said at a round table titled “Serbia and World Trade Organisation: Perspectives and Challenges of Membership”, that two to three years is a good period for candidature in the WTO and the EU, adding that any possible tardiness could be dramatic. According to Lopandic, the year 2005 is crucial in the negotiation process.
Serbian Minister of International Economic Relations Milan Parivodic said that “the EU path is the only path we can go” and added that the EU is for the first time in history trying to modernise less developed countries and make them approach the modern world, which is a chance that Serbia must not miss.
By entering the WTO, Serbia would gain equal access to developed markets, more favourable treatment with foreign investors and a better credit rating, Parivodic said.
Everyone in Serbia should become aware of the importance of WTO membership, he said and expressed hope that the government’s task force for WTO membership will hold its first meeting with WTO representatives in autumn.
Following the decision of the WTO’s General Council, Serbia was approved a special WTO accession procedure, and a memorandum on Serbia’s foreign trade regime was submitted to the WTO early this month, he said.
Head of the Ministry’s department for the WTO Jadranka Zenic-Zeljkovic said that it is Serbia’s wish to have one of the EU ambassadors named to the position of task force president.
She said that after the submission of all necessary documentation and the adoption of the accession agreement, Serbia could become a WTO member in 2008.
Advisor to the Minister in the Permanent Mission of Serbia-Montenegro to the United Nations Bojana Todorovic said that three crucial areas in negotiations with the WTO are agriculture, industrial products and services.
She said that upon completion of a new round of negotiations at the end of the WTO ministerial conference, which will be held in Hong Kong in December, it will be known which rules will be applied to Serbia.
WTO currently has 148 members, with another 30 awaiting admission.
Serbia is near the bottom of the list of WTO non-member countries. In 2001, Serbia was granted monitoring status.
Serbian Minister of International Economic Relations Milan Parivodic said that “the EU path is the only path we can go” and added that the EU is for the first time in history trying to modernise less developed countries and make them approach the modern world, which is a chance that Serbia must not miss.
By entering the WTO, Serbia would gain equal access to developed markets, more favourable treatment with foreign investors and a better credit rating, Parivodic said.
Everyone in Serbia should become aware of the importance of WTO membership, he said and expressed hope that the government’s task force for WTO membership will hold its first meeting with WTO representatives in autumn.
Following the decision of the WTO’s General Council, Serbia was approved a special WTO accession procedure, and a memorandum on Serbia’s foreign trade regime was submitted to the WTO early this month, he said.
Head of the Ministry’s department for the WTO Jadranka Zenic-Zeljkovic said that it is Serbia’s wish to have one of the EU ambassadors named to the position of task force president.
She said that after the submission of all necessary documentation and the adoption of the accession agreement, Serbia could become a WTO member in 2008.
Advisor to the Minister in the Permanent Mission of Serbia-Montenegro to the United Nations Bojana Todorovic said that three crucial areas in negotiations with the WTO are agriculture, industrial products and services.
She said that upon completion of a new round of negotiations at the end of the WTO ministerial conference, which will be held in Hong Kong in December, it will be known which rules will be applied to Serbia.
WTO currently has 148 members, with another 30 awaiting admission.
Serbia is near the bottom of the list of WTO non-member countries. In 2001, Serbia was granted monitoring status.
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