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Request to CEFTA to abolish Pristina’s decision on blockade of goods from Serbia
Belgrade,
25 July 2011
The Ministry of Economy and Regional Development sent today to UNMIK Chief Robert Sorenson, as the representative of the CEFTA Chair in Office, a letter in which it requires urgent consultations on Pristina's unilateral decision to ban the entry of goods from central Serbia to Kosovo-Metohija.
Director of the Serbian government’s Office of Media Relations Milivoje Mihajlovic said in a statement to Tanjug news agency that Pristina’s decision is described in the letter as a flagrant violation of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and urgent measures to abolish this decision are requested.
We expect an immediate response within CEFTA and apart from this, consultations are being held with the EU and some other countries via diplomatic ways so that the problem would be solved, he pointed out.
Assistant Minister of Economy and Regional Development Bojana Todorovic explained that the deadline for resolving a dispute within CEFTA is 90 days, after which Serbia can turn to an international arbitration.
She pointed out that the aggravating circumstance is that if Serbia wants to launch this procedure it has to contact the CEFTA Chair in Office and that is exactly UNMIK/Kosovo, whose term in office started on 1 January and will last until the end of this year.
The mechanism for solving disputes among CEFTA parties envisages several phases, starting from bilateral consultations which are then followed by consultations of all parties at the Joint Committee. All decisions are made through consensus.
Todorovic underlined that this mechanism, which Serbia is forced to start, has not been used by any CEFTA member so far.
She recalled that Serbia had a problem with Moldova, but everything was resolved at the level of bilateral consultations.
The enforcement of the decision of Kosovo interim institutions of self-government started on 20 July when customs officials received orders not to let pass trucks that come to Kosovo from other parts of Serbia.
CEFTA parties are Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Moldova and UNMIK which represents Kosovo.
We expect an immediate response within CEFTA and apart from this, consultations are being held with the EU and some other countries via diplomatic ways so that the problem would be solved, he pointed out.
Assistant Minister of Economy and Regional Development Bojana Todorovic explained that the deadline for resolving a dispute within CEFTA is 90 days, after which Serbia can turn to an international arbitration.
She pointed out that the aggravating circumstance is that if Serbia wants to launch this procedure it has to contact the CEFTA Chair in Office and that is exactly UNMIK/Kosovo, whose term in office started on 1 January and will last until the end of this year.
The mechanism for solving disputes among CEFTA parties envisages several phases, starting from bilateral consultations which are then followed by consultations of all parties at the Joint Committee. All decisions are made through consensus.
Todorovic underlined that this mechanism, which Serbia is forced to start, has not been used by any CEFTA member so far.
She recalled that Serbia had a problem with Moldova, but everything was resolved at the level of bilateral consultations.
The enforcement of the decision of Kosovo interim institutions of self-government started on 20 July when customs officials received orders not to let pass trucks that come to Kosovo from other parts of Serbia.
CEFTA parties are Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Moldova and UNMIK which represents Kosovo.
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