HGK supports the new CEFTA

The Croatian Chamber of Economy has clearly and unequivocally supported the signing of the new Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), as this agreement is extremely significant not only for deepening economic cooperation in the region but also for establishing Croatia as a leader and Zagreb as the economic and political center of the region, said the president of HGK, Nadan Vidošević today.

Opening the conference "What does the modernized CEFTA 2006 agreement bring?" Vidošević emphasized that the success of the Croatian initiative to implement regional economic integration through CEFTA is important also due to the geopolitical positioning of Croatia, which is located at the center of all significant transport corridors connecting the region with the European Union (EU). Speaking about the importance of CEFTA, the chief Croatian negotiator in the negotiations on the ‘new’ CEFTA and State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Vladimir Vranković, pointed out that from 2003 to 2006, Croatia’s foreign trade exchange with the then member countries increased by almost 40 percent.

He added that the necessity of the new agreement is also indicated by the fact that the new signatories of the Agreement are among the few countries with which Croatia records a surplus in trade exchange, as well as how the first Agreement proved to be a successful mechanism for preparing countries for full EU membership. The new Agreement was signed in December last year and is expected to come into force in mid this year after ratification, when CEFTA will consist of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo, alongside Croatia. Vranković also expressed hope that Ukraine would soon join these countries.

Compared to the first Agreement from 1993, the new one has brought new, somewhat milder criteria, as well as the modernization of a number of provisions, such as those on market competition protection and intellectual property rights or dispute resolution procedures. However, there are still problems in the implementation of the new Agreement, such as the issue of importing petroleum derivatives into Serbia and discriminatory excise duties on cigarettes and non-alcoholic beverages in that country, as well as, for example, the decision of Bosnia and Herzegovina to suspend its implementation for 24 months. Vranković pointed out one of the significant ‘dangers’ of this agreement, namely that Croatian entrepreneurs might focus on the criteria of competitiveness in those countries instead of adopting higher EU standards, as they should.