Prospects of CEFTA

CEFTA SECRETARIAT

Objectives

CEFTA 2008 - 2011

• All commitments and deadlines met• Liberalisation of trade in goods • Diagonal cumulation• Opening of PP Market• TBT notification• State Aid notification• IPR review• Non-discrimination in Investment• CEFTA Trade Portal

CEFTA 2012 - 2015

• Strategic partnerships deepened• Investment• Supply chains• Transportation channels

• CEFTA implementation focused on• Liberalisation of trade in services• Elimination of NTBs• Trade Facilitation• Transparency

CEFTA SECRETARIAT

Challenges for the years to come

• In 2012 – 2015, implementation of CEFTA is involving the domains for which• Objectives of liberalisation are not explicitly set up by the Agreement; • Ministries responsible for Trade might not always have a direct

mandate over these domains, thus requiring involvement of other governmental bodies (e.g. elimination of NTBs, trade facilitation, liberalisation of trade in services, etc.);

• These areas require technically complex discussions, as well as coordinated efforts of both policy making Ministries and law enforcement authorities at the same time;

• As a consequence, the projects and initiatives to support the implementation are also getting technically demanding and increasingly complex.

• Trade policy alone is not sufficient to optimise the impact of regional trade liberalisation and European integration.

CEFTA SECRETARIAT

Assumptions

• Harmonisation efforts within CEFTA are aligned with the common objective to join the EU.

• All decisions are promoting and not in anyway jeopardising the accession process of respective Parties.

• No CEFTA specific standards or practice are introduced.

CEFTA SECRETARIAT

“CEFTA Approach”

• Analyse trade flows

• Assess existing and potential barriers to trade

• Articulate respective Parties interest

• Identify potential area of multilateral/plurilateral interest

• Cross-check with the respective EU accession priorities/plans

• Agree on the scope of CEFTA negotiations

CEFTA SECRETARIAT

Key Success Factors

• Strategic view– understanding strategic importance of trade and strengthening regional cooperation/partnerships• by the Parties in the context of their economic development, regional

cooperation and accession to the EU• by the donors in the context of the impact of trade on promoting economic

development in the Region • Coordination – efficient coordination required • among the Parties in the negotiations• within respective Parties administrations to develop Parties’ positions• between the Parties and the Secretariat to execute action• between the Parties, the Secretariat and international partners to seek for

synergies and prevent overlapping of efforts• Sustainability – ensuring sustainability of the process as a prerequisite to success• discipline of all actors in programming and implementation of priorities• regular participation and appropriate representation in official meetings• active involvement in agreed activities• financial discipline

THANK YOU.