CEFTA 2006 Renata Vitez Director Regional Cooperation Council WESTERN BALKANS IN 2020 Sarajevo, 24-25 February 2010

CEFTA 2006 CEFTA 2006 consolidates 32 previous bilateral free trade agreements in South East Europe. The Agreement on Amendment to and Accession to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006) was signed in Bucharest in December 2006. An agreement called CEFTA implies … the Parties “aim … to accede to the EU and that CEFTA is a proven route to accession … (Preamble) … because intra-regional free trade is part of pre-accession process to EU (SAAs). The modernised CEFTA is the first internationally binding treaty signed by the SEE countries themselves; successful implementation is vital both economically and politically. CEFTA Secretariat

“CEFTA Process” WTO EU27 CEFTA Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) EU27 CEFTA WTO WTO Membership CEFTA Parties CEFTA Secretariat

CEFTA 2006 provides … Full conformity with WTO Free trade up-front in all industrial products and many agricultural products (> 90%) Modern provisions on trade-related issues Evolutionary clauses on new trade issues Mechanisms for implementation and dispute settlement Harmonisation with EU acquis and a pre-accession track CEFTA Secretariat

Intra-regional exports have increased substantially since 2003 Source: The World Bank CEFTA Secretariat

The impact of the crisis on trade flows * World Bank, data for Albania, Montenegro and UNMIK/Kosovo are for January-March period, and data for BiH, Croatia, FYR Macedonia and Serbia for January-April period CEFTA Secretariat

CEFTA Trade Dynamics, 2009/2008 (I-VI) CEFTA Party TRENDS IN INTRA-REGIONAL TRADE In % Trends in Total CEFTA Trade 2009 (2008) in % AGRICULTURE non-AGRICULTURE IMP From CEFTA EXP To CEFTA Albania 52.14 UP 8.47 down 27.36 34.71 7.1 (7.0) 26.3 (6.1) Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.7 10.26 44.1 24.3 (29.2) 37.9 (36.6) Croatia 30.4 11.3 33.7 40.7 4.8 (4.7) 20.1 (23.9) Macedonia 8.3 3.8 27.2 100 22.4 (11.1) 5.2 (34.5) Moldova 7.7 41.89 56.3 78.9 0.29 (0.38) 0.74 (0.73) Montenegro 10.4 32.8 39.8 33.9 53.4 (49.2) 40.2 (34.6) Serbia 4.3 2.0 41.5 31.1 7.2 (7.8) 36.1 (33) UNMIK/ Kosovo 85.8 45.4 90.5 71.0 (46.4) 25.0 (37.4) Sources: CEFTA National Statistics Offices CEFTA Secretariat

Priorities of the Chairmanship of Serbia in 2010 The Serbian Chairmanship in 2010 focuses on the following priority areas: Potential launching of liberalisation in services, Creating conditions to intensify investment, Conducting the first review on public procurement legislation and The first review on competition rules and practices. The priorities were indorsed by the Joint Committee in Podgorica on 29 October 2009. CEFTA Secretariat

2nd Year of implementation Chairmanship programmes are ambitious. Results in 2009 are encouraging, especially the agreed liberalisation in agricultural trade. Concrete initiatives/projects have been launched to support the implementation of respective Chairmanship priorities. Co-operation with regional and international partners is excellent. “CEFTA Week” involved over 140 participants in a variety of CEFTA related seminars and workshops. Differences in pace and status in the EU accession process is perceived as impediment to further liberalisation. Due to difficult economic situation further protectionist pressures can be expected. Participation of UNMIK/Kosovo in CEFTA structures remains an issue. Budget restrictions may affect participation in joint projects /activities. CEFTA Secretariat

www.cefta.int CEFTA Secretariat