Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbian delegation satisfied with negotiations on establishing free trade zone

Brussels, 27 July 2006

Serbian Assistant Minister of International Economic Relations Dusko Lopandic said today that Serbia is satisfied with the course of negotiations between southeastern European countries on establishing a free trade zone, and added that the aim is to conclude the agreement by the end of the year.

Lopandic, who leads the Serbian delegation for these negotiations, said in a statement to the press that experts on customs and experts of the Serbian government’s ministries have been engaged for negotiations, which are being mediated by the European Commission and the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.

He recalled that negotiations on creating a single free trade zone started at the beginning of April in Bucharest, in the presence of regional leaders, including Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.

It is envisaged that with the signing of the agreement, the entire region will be connected through the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), which previously included only countries of central Europe, current members of the EU, stressed Lopandic.

He emphasized that agreement was reached at the negotiations that a CEFTA committee should be formed which would function as an arbitrator, and said that a novelty is the introduction of the so-called “diagonal accumulation rule of origin” for products.

He pointed out that that concept provides member countries of the regional free trade zone the possibility of mutual joint production or with any EU member country in order to freely export the joint product on the EU market.

The CEFTA will include all countries in the region: Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania, said Lopandic, adding that this agreement will replace the previous complicated system of 31 bilateral agreements on free trade.

He explained that the aim of the agreement is to facilitate trade and investment in the region, as well as protection of intellectual property rights, competition and public purchase.

According to Lopandic, this document will remove many obstacles and establish new forms of trade, such as the sector of services, and rules will be introduced regarding competition and public support for firms.