Central European Free Trade Agreement

Infobox Geopolitical organization
name = Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)
linking_name = the Central European Free Trade Agreement

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map_caption = Map members
org_type = Trade agreement
membership_type = Member states
membership = ALB
BIH
CRO
KOS .
MKD
MDA
MNE
SRB
languages_type = Official languages
languages = Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Moldovan, and Serbian
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_event1 = Signed
established_date1 = 21 December 1992
area_km2 = 309,125
area_sq_mi = 119,354
percent_water =
population_estimate = 30,936,824
population_estimate_rank =
population_estimate_year = 2007
population_density_km2 = 100.07
population_density_sq_mi =
population_density_rank =
GDP_PPP = $236.6 billion
GDP_PPP_rank =
GDP_PPP_year = 2007 (IMF)
GDP_PPP_per_capita = 7,649
GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
GDP_nominal =
GDP_nominal_rank =
GDP_nominal_year =
GDP_nominal_per_capita =
GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
currency = Albanian Lek, Bosnia and Herzegovina konvertibilna marka, Croatian kuna, Euro, Macedonian denar, Moldovan leu, Serbian dinar
currency_code = ALL, BAM, HRK, EUR, MKD, MDL, RSD
time_zone = CET / EET
utc_offset = +1 / +2
time_zone_DST = CEST / EEST
utc_offset_DST = +2 / +3

History

Original agreement

Original CEFTA agreement was signed by Visegrád Group countries, that is by Poland, Hungary and Czech and Slovak republics (at the time parts of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic) on 21 December 1992 in Kraków, Poland. It entered into force since July 1994. Through CEFTA, participating countries hoped to mobilize efforts to integrate 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.

CEFTA 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 Balkan states, which already had completed a matrix of bilateral free trade agreements in the framework of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. On April 6, 2006, at the "South East Europe Prime Ministers Summit" in Bucharest, a joint declaration on expansion of CEFTA to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo, Moldova, Serbia and Montenegro was adopted. ^{[http://www.eciks.org/english/lajme.php?action=total_news&main_id=417]} Accession of Ukraine has also been discussed. ^{[http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-160543.html]} The new enlarged agreement was initialled on November 9, 2006 in Brussels and has been signed on December 19, 2006 at the South East European Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest. ^{[http://www.euinkosovo.org/upload_press/Central%20European%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%20initialled.pdf]} The agreement went into effect on July 26, 2007 for Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova and Montenegro, and on August 22 for Croatia. Bosnia and Herzegovina ratified it on September 6, ^{[http://www.birn.eu.com/en/102/15/4077/]} while Serbia completed the final legal procedures on September 24, 2007. ^{[http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=09&dd=24&nav_category=94&nav_id=44017]} The agreement aims at establishing a free trade zone in the region by 31 December 2010.

Relations with the EU

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 May 1 2004, with Bulgaria and Romania following suit on January 1 2007. Croatia does not yet have a date specified, but is in the process of accession negotiations, and is expected to join EU in 2010 or 2011. Macedonia is also an official candidate country of the EU.

At the EU's recommendation, the future members prepared for membership by establishing free trade areas. A large proportion of CEFTA foreign trade is with EU countries.

ee also

*Economy of Europe
*Enlargement of the European Union
*European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
*Free trade areas in Europe
*Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (including a matrix of bilateral FTAs)
*Visegrád Group

External links

* [http://www.worldtradelaw.net/fta/agreements/cefta.pdf Original CEFTA Treaty]
* [http://www.stabilitypact.org/trade/Cefta%20Agreement%20Amendment%20of%20and%20Accession%20to%20the%20Central%20European%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%20-%20Preamble.pdf Preamble of the CEFTA Agreement Amendment of and Accession to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006 Agreement)]

Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)