/ world today news/ On July 10, an agreement on a free trade zone between Serbia and the Eurasian Economic Union entered into force. The document was signed in October 2019 and has since passed the ratification procedure in the parliaments of Serbia and five EAEU member states: the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
“After the entry into force of the agreement, for the first time duty-free access to the Serbian market will be opened for export supplies of goods from Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Also, new opportunities for access to the Serbian market for goods from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia will be created,” said Igor Nazaruk, Director of the Department of Trade Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission. It is worth clarifying here that the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus, unlike Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, already have separate bilateral free trade agreements with Serbia.
In the comments of the head of the Eurasian Economic Commission, it was noted that the agreement includes a number of regulatory obligations in order to maintain stability, predictability and transparency of trade operations between the participating countries. The document also provides for the expansion of the list of agricultural products that will receive duty-free access to the markets of six contracting countries.
The Minister of Innovation and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, Nenad Popovic, called the entry into force of the agreement “a historic moment for Serbia.”
“As a result of our excellent political relations, new perspectives have opened up for the development of our economic relations, which is essential for our country, economy and citizens. With the entry into force of this agreement, the Serbian economy will be able to export almost all manufactured goods to the markets of the Eurasian Economic Union, numbering about 200 million people, without trade tariffs. This is an extremely competitive advantage compared to all countries in Europe and the world,” the Serbian official emphasized.
Ahead of the agreement’s start date, the European Union recalled that “before joining the EU, Serbia must withdraw from all bilateral free trade agreements,” as European External Action Service spokesman Peter Stano said.
Serbia has long proclaimed its membership in the European Union as its strategic priority, but Brussels creates almost unacceptable conditions for it along the way. Among them are requests to join sanctions against Russia and normalize relations with the self-proclaimed “Republic of Kosovo”, which foresees the recognition of its independence from Belgrade.
In early June, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made a series of statements in which he admitted he had lost faith in the European Union’s expansion to the Western Balkans and complained about open pressure from the West to recognize Kosovo.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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