Central European Free Trade Agreement

{{Short description|International trade agreement}} {{refimprove|date=August 2015}} {{Infobox Geopolitical organization | conventional_long_name = Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) | linking_name = the Central European Free Trade Agreement | native_name = {{collapsible list |titlestyle = background:transparent; text-align:center |title = Native names|{{native name|sq|Marrëveshja e Tregtisë së Lirë të Evropës Qendrore}}{{br}}{{native name|bs|Centralnoevropski sporazum o slobodnoj trgovini}}{{br}}{{native name|hr|Srednjoeuropski ugovor o slobodnoj trgovini}}{{br}}{{native name|mk|Централноевропски договор за слободна трговија}}{{br}}{{native name|cnr|Centralnoevropski sporazum o slobodnoj trgovini}}{{br}}{{native name|ro|Acordul Central European al Comerțului Liber}}{{br}}{{native name|sr|Централноевропски договор о слободној трговини}}}} | symbol_type = Logo | image_symbol = Logo of CEFTA.png | image_flag = Flag of CEFTA.svg | symbol_width = | image_map = Central European Free Trade Agreement.svg | map_caption = Map of Europe (grey) indicating the members of CEFTA (blue) | org_type = Trade agreement | admin_center_type = CEFTA Secretariat | admin_center = Brussels | languages_type = Working language | languages = English | languages2_type = Official languages of contracting states | languages2 = {{collapsible list |titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal; |title = 7 languages |Albanian |Bosnian |Croatian |Macedonian |Montenegrin |Romanian |Serbian }} | membership = {{unbulleted indent list | {{ALB}} | {{BIH}} | {{KOS}} | {{MDA}} | {{MNE}} | {{MKD}} | {{SRB}}}} | leader_title1 = Chair-in-office 2025 | leader_name1 = {{flag|Kosovo}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kosovo-online.com/en/news/politics/shahini-kosovo-must-take-its-cefta-chairmanship-role-seriously-14-1-2025 | title=Shahini: Kosovo must take its CEFTA chairmanship role seriously - Kosovo Online }}</ref> | leader_title2 = Director of the CEFTA Secretariat | leader_name2 = Danijela Gačević (acting) | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | established_event1 = Agreement signed | established_date1 = 21 December 1992 | established_event2 = CEFTA 2006 Agreement signed | established_date2 = 19 December 2006 | area_km2 = 252,428 | area_sq_mi = 97,463 | percent_water = | population_estimate = 18.92 million | population_estimate_rank = | population_estimate_year = 2026 | population_density_km2 = 85 | population_density_sq_mi = | population_density_rank = | GDP_PPP = $535.29 billion<ref name=IMF>[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.</ref> | GDP_PPP_rank = | GDP_PPP_year = 2026 | GDP_PPP_per_capita = $28,292 | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = | GDP_nominal = $246.86 billion | GDP_nominal_rank = | GDP_nominal_year = 2026 | GDP_nominal_per_capita = $13,048 | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = | currency = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal; | title = 6 currencies | {{flagicon|ALB}}{{nbsp|2}}<code>ALL</code>{{nbsp|2}}Lek | {{flagicon|BIH}}{{nbsp|2}}<code>BAM</code>{{nbsp|2}}Convertible mark | {{flagicon|KOS}}{{nbsp|2}}<code>EUR</code>{{nbsp|2}}Euro | {{flagicon|MDA}}{{nbsp|2}}<code>MDL</code>{{nbsp|2}}Leu | {{flagicon|MNE}}{{nbsp|2}}<code>EUR</code>{{nbsp|2}}Euro | {{flagicon|MKD}}{{nbsp|2}}<code>MKD</code>{{nbsp|2}}Denar | {{flagicon|SRB}}{{nbsp|2}}<code>RSD</code>{{nbsp|2}}Dinar }} | time_zone = | utc_offset = +1, UTC+2 | time_zone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = +2, UTC+3 | official_website = https://cefta.int/ }} The '''Central European Free Trade Agreement''' ('''CEFTA''') is an international trade agreement between countries mostly located in Southeastern Europe. Founded by representatives of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, CEFTA over time expanded to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |editor-last1=Bami |editor-first1=Xhorxhina |editor-last2=Isufi |editor-first2=Antigone |date=9 October 2024 |title=EU Welcomes Kosovo's Move to Scrap Ban on Serbian Imports |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2024/10/08/eu-welcomes-kosovos-move-to-scrap-ban-on-serbian-imports/ |access-date=9 October 2024 |website=Balkaninsight}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Vllahiu |first=Emirjeta |date=2024-10-09 |title=Ambasadori gjerman: Kosova do të përfaqësohet pa UNMIK-un në CEFTA |url=https://kallxo.com/lajm/ambasadori-gjerman-kosova-do-te-perfaqesohet-pa-unmik-un-ne-cefta/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Raporto Korrupsionin! KALLXO.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Berisha |first=Kemajl |date=2024-10-08 |title=Nesër mbledhja e CEFTA-s, Kosova me fusnotë përfaqësohet nga MINT, synohen lehtësira për tregti të lirë - Telegrafi |url=https://telegrafi.com/neser-mbledhja-e-cefta-s-kosova-fusnote-perfaqesohet-nga-mint-synohen-lehtesira-per-tregti-te-lire/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Members == As of 2024, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

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.<ref name=":0"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://euronews.al/en/kosovo-is-no-longer-represented-by-unmik-in-cefta/ | title=Kosovo is no longer represented by UNMIK in CEFTA | date=9 October 2024 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Parties of agreement !! Joined !! {{nbsp|3}}Left{{nbsp|3}} !! Joined EU |- | {{POL}} || rowspan="4" align=center | 21 December 1992 (signed) 1 March 1993 (entry into force)<ref name=CEFTA1992>[https://www.worldtradelaw.net/document.php?id=fta/agreements/cefta.pdf Central European Free Trade Agreement], 21 December 1992.</ref><ref name=CEFTAHistory>{{cite web|access-date=28 May 2025 |language=en |title=CEFTA : History |url=https://globaledge.msu.edu/trade-blocs/cefta/history |website=msu.edu}}.</ref> || rowspan="5" align=center | 30 April 2004 || rowspan="5" align=center | 1 May 2004 |- | {{HUN}} |- | {{CZE}}{{efn|name=CSK|Until 1 January 1993 part of Czechoslovakia.}} |- | {{SVK}}{{efn|name=CSK}} |- | {{SVN}} || align=center | 1 January 1996 |- | {{ROU}} || align=center | 1 July 1997 || rowspan="2" align=center | 31 December 2006 || rowspan="2" align=center | 1 January 2007 |- | {{BUL}} || align=center | 1 January 1999 |- | {{HRV}} || align=center | 1 March 2003 || align=center | 30 June 2013 || align=center | 1 July 2013 |- | {{MKD}}{{efn|name=MKD|Until 2019 named Republic of Macedonia.}} || align=center | 1 January 2006 || rowspan="7" align=center | — || rowspan="7" align=center | — |- | {{ALB}} || rowspan="6" align=center | 1 May 2007<ref name=CEFTA2006>[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.</ref> |- | {{BIH}} |- | {{KOS}}{{efn|name=KOS|Under the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo until October 2024.}} |- | {{MDA}} |- | {{MNE}} |- | {{SRB}} |}

== 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 == {| class="wikitable sortable" width=800px; ! width=28% | Contracting party ! width=12% | Accession ! width=12% | Population ! width=12% | {{longitem|Area (km²)}} ! width=12% | Capital ! width=12% | {{longitem|GDP in billions (PPP)<ref name="IMF2023">[https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October Data for 2023. International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database]</ref>}} ! width=12% | {{longitem|GDP per capita (PPP)<ref name="IMF2023" />}} |- | {{flagicon|Albania}} Albania | rowspan="5" align=center | 1 May 2007 | align=right | {{Nts|2761785}} | align=right | {{Nts|28748}} | Tirana | align=right | 55.049 | align=right | 18,037 |- | {{flagicon|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} Bosnia and Herzegovina | align=right | {{Nts|3345818}} | align=right | {{Nts|51209}} | Sarajevo | align=right | 77.076 | align=right | 18,409 |- | {{flagicon|KOS}} Kosovo{{efn|name=KOS}} | align="right" | {{Nts|1586659}} | align=right | {{Nts|10887}} | Pristina | align=right | 27.966 | align=right | 14,294 |- | {{flagicon|Moldova}} Moldova | align=right | {{Nts|2423300}} | align=right | {{Nts|33843}} | Chișinău | align=right | 43.227 | align=right | 15,606 |- | {{flagicon|Montenegro}} Montenegro | align=right | {{Nts|604966}} | align=right | 13,812 | Podgorica | align=right | 18.999 | align=right | 27,037 |- |{{flagicon|North Macedonia}} North Macedonia | align=center | 1 Jan. 2006 | align=right | {{Nts|1836713}} | align=right | {{Nts|25713}} |Skopje | align=right | 47.108 | align=right | 23,173 |- | {{flagicon|Serbia}} Serbia | align="center" | 1 May 2007 | align=right | {{Nts|6623183}} | align=right | {{Nts|77474}} | Belgrade | align=right | 222.040 | align=right | 34,493 |}

== History == [[File:Central European Free Trade Agreement membership history.gif|thumb|right|History of CEFTA members from 1992 to 2013. All of the original members of the trade pact became members of the European Union (EU), and because of such, Southeast European nations, such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Montenegro, and Serbia, joined in and carried the CEFTA.<hr> {{legend|#FFD000|CEFTA member states|border=1px #ffffff solid}} {{legend|#4169EF|EU member states|border=1px #ffffff solid}}]] ===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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.eciks.org/english/lajme.php?action=total_news&main_id=417 |title=Economic Initiative for Kosovo - ECIKS, Investment opportunities in Kosovo, Privatization process in Kosovo, investing in Kosovo, Kosovo Business, Kosovo Economy |access-date=2006-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929081322/http://www.eciks.org/english/lajme.php?action=total_news&main_id=417 |archive-date=2007-09-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kosovo is directly represented in CEFTA since October 2024.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Accession of Ukraine has also been discussed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.unian.info/world/10524-ukraine-croatia-broaden-ties.html |title=Ukraine, Croatia broaden ties |date=14 July 2006 |website=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency |access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euinkosovo.org/upload_press/Central%20European%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%20initialled.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-04-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227105340/http://www.euinkosovo.org/upload_press/Central%20European%20Free%20Trade%20Agreement%20initialled.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-27 }}</ref> 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 : {{Flag|North Macedonia}} * 2008 : {{Flag|Moldova}} * 2009 : {{Flag|Montenegro}} * 2010 : {{Flag|Serbia}} * 2011 : {{Flagicon|United Nations}} UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo * 2012 : {{Flag|Albania}} * 2013 : {{Flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} * 2014 : {{Flag|North Macedonia}} * 2015 : {{Flag|Moldova}} * 2016 : {{Flag|Montenegro}} * 2017 : {{Flag|Serbia}} * 2018 : {{Flagicon|United Nations}} UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo * 2019 : {{Flag|Albania}} * 2020 : {{Flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} * 2021 : {{Flag|North Macedonia}} * 2022 : {{Flag|Moldova}} * 2023 : {{Flag|Montenegro}} * 2024 : {{Flag|Serbia}} * 2025 : {{Flag|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.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} 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== {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == {{commons category|Central European Free Trade Agreement}} *{{Official website|http://www.cefta.int/|CEFTA official website}} *[https://cefta.int/trade-info-center/ CEFTA Trade Portal] *[https://cefta.int/about/documents/legal-documents/ Original CEFTA Treaty] *[https://www.macmap.org Market Access Map] (A free tool developed by International Trade Centre, which identify customs tariffs, tariff rate quotas, trade remedies, regulatory requirements and preferential regimes applicable to products, including CEFTA) *[https://www.findrulesoforigin.org Rules of Origin Facilitator] (A free tool jointly developed by International Trade Centre, World Trade Organization and World Customs Organization which enables traders to find specific criteria and general origin requirements applicable to their products, understand and comply with them in order to be eligible for preferential tariffs. The tool is very useful for traders who want to gain benefit from CEFTA) *[https://cefta.int/about/documents/legal-documents/ CEFTA 2006 Agreement]

{{Central European Free Trade Agreement}} {{Europe topics (small)}}{{Regional organizations}} {{Authority control}}

Category:International organizations based in Europe Category:Trade blocs Category:Treaties concluded in 1992 Category:Treaties of Poland Category:Treaties of Czechoslovakia Category:Treaties of Slovenia Category:Treaties of Serbia Category:Treaties of Romania Category:Treaties of North Macedonia Category:Treaties of Moldova Category:Treaties of Montenegro Category:Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Treaties of the Czech Republic Category:Treaties of Slovakia Category:Treaties of Kosovo Category:Treaties of Hungary Category:Treaties of Bulgaria Category:Free trade agreements of Serbia Category:Treaties of Croatia Category:Treaties of Albania Category:Czechoslovakia–Poland relations Category:Czechoslovakia–Hungary relations Category:European integration