Prospects of CEFTA

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Prospects of CEFTA
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Objectives

• CEFTA 2012 - 2015

• 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

• Strategic partnerships deepened
• Investment
• Supply chains
• Transportation channels
• CEFTA implementation focused on
• Liberalisation of trade in services
• Elimination of NTBs
• Trade Facilitation
• Transparency

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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.

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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.

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CEFTA Approach

• Analyse trade flows
• Assess existing and potential barriers to trade
• Articulate respective Parties interest
• Identify potential area of multilateral/plurilater
  al interest
• Cross-check with the respective EU accession
  priorities/plans
• Agree on the scope of CEFTA negotiations

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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

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