Central European Free Trade Agreement

Members

As of 2024, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

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 UNMIK, but began representing itself from October 2024 onwards.

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

History

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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. Kosovo is directly represented in CEFTA since October 2024. Accession of Ukraine has also been discussed. 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. 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.

Chair-in-office

The Chair-in-office rotates between member states:

• 2007 : North Macedonia
• 2008 : Moldova
• 2009 : Montenegro
• 2010 : Serbia
• 2011 : United Nations UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo
• 2012 : Albania
• 2013 : Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 2014 : North Macedonia
• 2015 : Moldova
• 2016 : Montenegro
• 2017 : Serbia
• 2018 : United Nations UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo
• 2019 : Albania
• 2020 : Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 2021 : North Macedonia
• 2022 : Moldova
• 2023 : Montenegro
• 2024 : Serbia
• 2025 : Kosovo

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. 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

References

References

1. "Shahini: Kosovo must take its CEFTA chairmanship role seriously - Kosovo Online".
2. [https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2021/April/weo-report?c=914,963,967,921,943,962,942,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,LP,&sy=2020&ey=2020&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=subject&ds=.&br=1 World economic outlook databases.] ''International Monetary Fund''. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
3. (9 October 2024). "EU Welcomes Kosovo's Move to Scrap Ban on Serbian Imports".
4. Vllahiu, Emirjeta. (2024-10-09). "Ambasadori gjerman: Kosova do të përfaqësohet pa UNMIK-un në CEFTA".
5. Berisha, Kemajl. (2024-10-08). "Nesër mbledhja e CEFTA-s, Kosova me fusnotë përfaqësohet nga MINT, synohen lehtësira për tregti të lirë - Telegrafi".
6. (9 October 2024). "Kosovo is no longer represented by UNMIK in CEFTA".
7. [https://www.worldtradelaw.net/document.php?id=fta/agreements/cefta.pdf Central European Free Trade Agreement], 21 December 1992.
8. "CEFTA : History".
9. [https://cefta.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/CEFTAMAINTEXT2006.pdf Agreement on Amendment of and Accession to the Central European Free Trade Agreement], 19 December 2006.
10. [https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October Data for 2023. International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database]
11. "Economic Initiative for Kosovo - ECIKS, Investment opportunities in Kosovo, Privatization process in Kosovo, investing in Kosovo, Kosovo Business, Kosovo Economy".
12. (14 July 2006). "Ukraine, Croatia broaden ties".
13. "Archived copy".