Central European Free Trade Agreement

Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)

Native names

*Marrëveshja e Tregtisë së Lirë të Evropës Qendrore* (Albanian)
*Centralnoevropski sporazum o slobodnoj trgovini* (Bosnian)
Централноевропски договор за слободна трговија (Macedonian)
*Acordul Central European al Comerțului Liber* (Romanian)
Централноевропски договор о слободној трговини (Serbian)
Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) Native names Marrëveshja e Tregtisë së Lirë të Evropës Qendrore (Albanian); Centralnoevropski sporazum o slobodnoj trgovini (Bosnian); Централноевропски договор за слободна трговија (Macedonian); Acordul Central European al Comerțului Liber (Romanian); Централноевропски договор о слободној трговини (Serbian);
	Logo
	Map of Europe (grey) indicating; the members of CEFTA (blue)
CEFTA Secretariat	Brussels
Working language	English
Official languages; of contracting states	7 languages Albanian ; Bosnian ; Croatian ; Macedonian ; Montenegrin ; Romanian ; Serbian ;
Type	Trade agreement
Membership	Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Kosovo; Moldova; Montenegro; North Macedonia; Serbia;
Leaders
• Chair-in-office 2023	Serbia
• Acting Director of the CEFTA Secretariat	Danijela Gačević
Establishment
• Agreement signed	21 December 1992
• CEFTA 2006 Agreement signed	19 December 2006
Area
• Total	252,428 km2 (97,463 sq mi)
Population
• 2022 estimate	19,548,563
• Density	85/km2 (220.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$423.680 billion
• Per capita	$19,000
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$153.863 billion
• Per capita	$7,100
Currency	6 currencies ALL Lek ; BAM Convertible mark ; EUR Euro ; MDL Leu ; EUR Euro ; MKD Denar ; RSD Dinar ;
Time zone	UTC+1, UTC+2
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2, UTC+3
	Website; https://cefta.int/

The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is an international trade agreement between countries mostly located in Southeastern Europe. Founded by representatives of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, CEFTA in 2006 expanded to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Members

As of 2024, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Former parties are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Their CEFTA memberships ended when they became member states of the European Union (EU). Kosovo was originally represented by the UNMIK, but began representing itself in 2024.^[3]

Parties of agreement	Joined	Left	Joined EU
Poland	21 December 1992	30 April 2004	1 May 2004
Hungary
Czech Republic^[a]
Slovakia^[a]
Slovenia	1 January 1996
Romania	1 January 1997	31 December 2006	1 January 2007
Bulgaria	1 January 1999	31 December 2006	1 January 2007
Croatia	1 January 2003	30 June 2013	1 July 2013
North Macedonia^[b]	1 January 2006	—	—
Albania	1 January 2007
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Moldova
Montenegro
Serbia
Kosovo^[3]^[4]^[5]	23 October 2024^[3]^[4]^[5]

Membership criteria

Former Poznań Declaration criteria:

World Trade Organization membership
European Union Association Agreement with provisions for future full membership
Free Trade Agreements with the current CEFTA member states

Current criteria since Zagreb meeting in 2005:

WTO membership or commitment to respect all WTO regulations
any European Union Association Agreement
Free Trade Agreements with the current CEFTA member states

Current members

Contracting party	Accession	Population	Area (km²)	Capital	GDP in millions (PPP)^[6]	GDP per capita (PPP)^[6]
Albania	1 Jan. 2007	2,793,592	28,748	Tirana	54.338	19,009
Bosnia and Herzegovina		3,227,405	51,209	Sarajevo	65.667	18,956
Moldova		2,603,813	33,843	Chişinău	44.372	17,779
Montenegro		622,182	13,812	Podgorica	17.191	27,616
North Macedonia	1 Jan. 2006	1,836,713	25,713	Skopje	43.660	21,103
Serbia	1 Jan. 2007	6,690,887	77,474	Belgrade	175.318	25,718
Kosovo^[3]^[4]^[5]	23 Oct. 2024	1,773,971	10,887	Pristina	27.185	15,398

History

Original agreement

The original CEFTA agreement was signed by the Visegrád Group countries, that is by Poland, Hungary and Czechia and Slovakia (at the time parts of the Czechoslovakia) on 21 December 1992 in Kraków, Poland. It came into force in July 1994. Through CEFTA, participating countries hoped to mobilize efforts to integrate into Western European institutions and through this, to join European political, economic, security and legal systems, thereby consolidating democracy and free-market economics.

The agreement was amended by the agreements signed on 11 September 1995 in Brno and on 4 July 2003 in Bled.

Slovenia joined CEFTA in 1996, Romania in 1997, Bulgaria in 1999, Croatia in 2003 and Macedonia in 2006.

2006 agreement

All of the parties of the original agreement had now joined the EU and thus left CEFTA. Therefore, it was decided to extend CEFTA to cover the rest of the Western Balkans, which already had completed a matrix of bilateral free trade agreements in the framework of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. On 6 April 2006, at the South East Europe Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest, a joint declaration on expansion of CEFTA to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro and UNMIK (on behalf of Kosovo) was adopted.^[7] Accession of Ukraine has also been discussed.^[8] The new enlarged agreement was initialled on 9 November 2006 in Brussels and was signed on 19 December 2006 at the South East European Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest.^[9] The agreement came into effect on 26 July 2007 for Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro and Macedonia, on 22 August for Croatia, on 24 October for Serbia, and on 22 November 2007 for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of the agreement was to establish a free trade zone in the region by 31 December 2010.

CEFTA 2006 aims at expanding regional trade in goods and services, creating an attractive environment for investment, and contributing to economic development and cooperation within the Parties. Laying down on the principles of WTO rules and procedures and harmonising its policies with the EU legislation, CEFTA provides an effective instrument for the Parties to accelerate their European integration agenda. Since the establishing, CEFTA has been deepening the areas of cooperation based on the needs of the businesses and strengthening trading relations between the Parties. From achieving the full liberalisation of trade in goods and further liberalisation in trade in services, via reducing trade related costs, harmonising the policies within the Parties based on the EU legislation, to expediting trade between Parties through electronic exchange of information, CEFTA has proven as a framework that ensures transparent trade relations between the Parties that can enable the businesses to improve their capacities for different markets.

Relations with the European Union

All former participating countries had previously signed association agreements with the EU, so in fact CEFTA has served as a preparation for full European Union membership.^{[citation needed]} Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia joined the EU on 1 May 2004, with Bulgaria and Romania following suit on 1 January 2007. Croatia joined the EU on 1 July 2013.

Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia have been undergoing EU accession talks since 2012, 2014 and 2022.

Notes

^ ^a ^b Until 1 January 1993 part of Czechoslovakia.
^ Until 2019 named Republic of Macedonia.

References

^ "Priorities for the CEFTA Chairmanship 2024" (PDF). CEFTA. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
^ World economic outlook databases. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Bami, Xhorxhina; Isufi, Antigone, eds. (9 October 2024). "EU Welcomes Kosovo's Move to Scrap Ban on Serbian Imports". Balkaninsight. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Vllahiu, Emirjeta (2024-10-09). "Ambasadori gjerman: Kosova do të përfaqësohet pa UNMIK-un në CEFTA". Raporto Korrupsionin! KALLXO.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Berisha, Kemajl (2024-10-08). "Nesër mbledhja e CEFTA-s, Kosova me fusnotë përfaqësohet nga MINT, synohen lehtësira për tregti të lirë - Telegrafi". Retrieved 2024-10-09.
^ ^a ^b Data for 2015. International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database
^ "Economic Initiative for Kosovo - ECIKS, Investment opportunities in Kosovo, Privatization process in Kosovo, investing in Kosovo, Kosovo Business, Kosovo Economy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
^ "Ukraine, Croatia broaden ties". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

CEFTA official website
CEFTA Trade Portal
Original CEFTA Treaty
Market Access Map (A free tool developed by International Trade Centre, which identify customs tariffs, tariff rate quotas, trade remedies, regulatory requirements and preferential regimes applicable to products, including CEFTA)
Rules of Origin Facilitator (A free tool jointly developed by International Trade Centre, World Trade Organization and World Customs Organization which enables traders to find specific criteria and general origin requirements applicable to their products, understand and comply with them in order to be eligible for preferential tariffs. The tool is very useful for traders who want to gain benefit from CEFTA)
CEFTA 2006 Agreement

[CSK-6] Until 1 January 1993 part of Czechoslovakia.

[MKD-7] Until 2019 named Republic of Macedonia.

[1] "Priorities for the CEFTA Chairmanship 2024" (PDF). CEFTA. Retrieved 30 December 2024.

[IMF-2] World economic outlook databases. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 1 April 2021.

[:0-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Bami, Xhorxhina; Isufi, Antigone, eds. (9 October 2024). "EU Welcomes Kosovo's Move to Scrap Ban on Serbian Imports". Balkaninsight. Retrieved 9 October 2024.

[:1-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Vllahiu, Emirjeta (2024-10-09). "Ambasadori gjerman: Kosova do të përfaqësohet pa UNMIK-un në CEFTA". Raporto Korrupsionin! KALLXO.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.

[:2-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Berisha, Kemajl (2024-10-08). "Nesër mbledhja e CEFTA-s, Kosova me fusnotë përfaqësohet nga MINT, synohen lehtësira për tregti të lirë - Telegrafi". Retrieved 2024-10-09.

[IMF2015-8] Data for 2015. International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database

[9] "Economic Initiative for Kosovo - ECIKS, Investment opportunities in Kosovo, Privatization process in Kosovo, investing in Kosovo, Kosovo Business, Kosovo Economy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-06-30.

[10] "Ukraine, Croatia broaden ties". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 14 July 2006. Retrieved 30 December 2024.

[11] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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