The region has not made good use of CEFTA, aimed at making the Western Balkans a single economy and preparing the market for the EU, says Mirsad Jasarspahic.
Political decisions such as (Pristina's) introduction of taxes are among the reasons for this, the vice president of the Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (one of the two entities in Bosnia-Herzegovina) has said.
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic spoke on Thursday in Belgrade at the opening of the Second Digital Summit of the Western Balkans.
Brnabic said that her government has set digitization and education as their absolute priorities in order to take advantage of all the chances that are being offered to us today.
Serbia is considering possible arbitration because of Pristina violation of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Thursday.
“At this moment, that is the only way to protect Serbia’s interests and have everyone who signed the agreement face the consequences in line with the contract they signed,” she told reporters at the 2nd Digital Summit in Belgrade.
Belgrade is thinking of launching an arbitrage over the tariffs Pristina imposed on goods from central Serbia last November thus violating CETFA agreement, Vecernje Novosti reported.
According to the daily, this option is on the table since 25 February after the 90 days have passed when the Government of Serbia submitted an official request to the CEFTA Secretariat to have a direct consultation within the Joint Committee on the matter.
Information that the Serbian Government has hired US firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP to lobby for it in Washington are not accurate, Tanjug news agency reported.
The news agency has learnt from the sources close to the Serbian Government, the talks with that firm are ongoing and relate to the eventual representation of Serbia in an arbitrage in Strasbourg in relation to the violation of the CEFTA agreement by Pristina.
Serbia’s Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic said on Tuesday the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) of 2006 became debatable after Kosovo introduced the 100 percent import duties on goods from Serbia and requires a recovery to maintain, the Beta news agency reported.
Ljajic added Serbia was losing a million Euros per day due to Pristina's taxes introduced last November.
David McAllister, the European Parliament (EP) Rapporteur for Serbia told Radio Free Europe (RFE) in an interview his delegation called on Pristina authorities to revoke the decision on the 100 percent import taxes on goods from Serbia to enable the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue to resume, the Beta news agency reported on Wednesday.
Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) reports, quoting Serbian state news agency Tanjug, that the European Union, as mediator in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, at this moment, has no answer to the question when the process of comprehensive normalization of relations could continue.
In addition to tariffs on goods from central Serbia, the big problem is the lack of a common position among all political actors in Pristina.
Belgrade does not expect the problem of Kosovo’s increase of tariffs on goods from Serbia to be solved through the Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA, and there is no hope for any compensation for the economic damage the policy has caused, said Serbia’s Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Rasim Ljajic.
European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini on Tuesday called the authorities in Pristina to revoke the 100 percent tariffs on goods from Serbia and warned that the alternative to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is dangerous.