Central European Free Trade Agreement
Central European Free Trade Agreement CEFTA |
|
---|---|
Map of the CEFTA |
|
English name | Central European Free Trade Agreement |
Organization type | intergovernmental economic agreement |
status | active |
Seat of the organs | Brussels , Belgium |
Chair | Albania |
Member States | 7 states : |
surface | 241,682 (2017) km² |
population | 22,130,834 (2017) |
Population density | 91.57 inhabitants per km² |
gross domestic product | $ 256.18 billion (2016) |
Gross domestic product per inhabitant | $ 11,575 |
founding | |
Currencies |
|
www.cefta.int |
The Central European Free Trade Agreement ( english Central European Free Trade Agreement , acronym: CEFTA ) is a free trade agreement between Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo , northern Macedonia , Moldavia , Montenegro and Serbia . The aim of the agreement is to remove tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers . Participation in CEFTA is due to the associated criteria as preparation for possible accession to the European Union .
Members
Current members
member | accession | GDP per capita (PPP) 2016 in US dollars | rel. GDP per capita (PPP) 2016 in US dollars (EU28 = 100%) |
---|---|---|---|
Albania | 2007 | 11.207 | 29% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2007 | 10,951 | 28% |
UNMIK / Kosovo | 2007 | 9,729 | 25% |
North Macedonia | 2006 | 14,388 | 37% |
Moldova | 2007 | 5,445 | 14% |
Montenegro | 2007 | 16,123 | 41% |
Serbia | 2007 | 14,315 | 37% |
For comparison: Economic output per capita (PPP) in the European Union (2016): 38,686 US dollars
former members
Country | accession | Exit ** | |
---|---|---|---|
Poland | 1992 | 2004 | |
Hungary | 1992 | 2004 | |
Czechoslovakia | Czech Republic | 1992 | 2004 |
Slovakia | 2004 | ||
Slovenia | 1996 | 2004 | |
Romania | 1997 | 2007 | |
Bulgaria | 1999 | 2007 | |
Croatia | 2002 | 2013 | |
** As a result of joining the European Union. |
List of Presidencies
The following countries held the presidency from 2007 to 2019:
country | year |
---|---|
2019 | Albania |
2018 | UNMIK / Kosovo |
2017 | Serbia |
2016 | Montenegro |
2015 | Moldova |
2014 | North Macedonia |
2013 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
2012 | Albania |
2011 | UNMIK / Kosovo |
2010 | Serbia |
2009 | Montenegro |
2008 | Moldova |
2007 | North Macedonia |
history
The agreement was founded on December 21, 1992 by Poland , then Czechoslovakia and Hungary in Krakow , Poland , and came into force in March 1993. Alongside the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which has existed since 1960 and the European Economic Area founded in 1994, the free trade agreement is one of the most important economic agreements within Europe.
Membership Development
1992 | 2003 | since 2013 |
---|
Younger story
On January 1, 2007, the CEFTA was expanded to include the so-called " Western Balkan States" and Moldova . Some of the admission criteria were relaxed. The accession criteria for the new states were no longer membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) or institutionalized relations with the EU , since Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia , for example, are neither members of the WTO nor had they signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU .
The representatives of Albania, Bulgaria, the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo on behalf of Kosovo, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Romania initialed the treaty applying the CEFTA to their states in Brussels on November 9, 2006, Serbia on November 15, 2006 . December. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia still had reservations and wanted better contractual terms than those stipulated in some previous bilateral agreements, especially with regard to certain agricultural products. The contract was ratified on December 19, 2006; the terms of the contract were not renegotiated.
Importance of the European perspective
The European perspective for the states of Southeast Europe is considered the most important criterion for the development of the entire region and thus for the maintenance of peace in Europe. The CEFTA aims to ensure political stability through economic alliances.
See also
Web links
- Official website
- Wiener Zeitung - A new free trade zone until 2007
- Text of the CEFTA Agreement (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, accessed September 9, 2017 .
- ^ Julian Dörr: Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) - Central European Free Trade Agreement . In: Görres-Gesellschaft and Verlag Herder (ed.): Herders Staatslexikon . 8th edition. tape 1 . Herder, Freiburg 2018, ISBN 978-3-451-37511-8 , pp. 989–991 ( staatslexikon-online.de ).
- ↑ http://cefta.int/cefta-parties-2/
- ↑ http://cefta.int/chair-in-office/#1463134287400-aebb67f9-4662