Member Article



Serbia to Sign an Agreement With the Eurasian Economic Union

Published: Aug, 2016  -  Serbia



According to recent media reports, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications in Serbia's newly formed government, Rasim Ljajic, stated that a free trade agreement between Serbia and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) should be signed come November, while outlining that at this stage, the matter is out of Serbia's hands and fully dependent on the EEU.

Ljajic is also reported to have said that the main goal of this agreement, whose final text is dependent on all five EEU member countries' approval, is the expansion of the current level of liberalisation to new products including Fiat automobiles, sugar, wine, poultry, tobacco, cheese, as well as different types of cotton. In terms of Fiat automobiles specifically, one of the key points of the negotiations will be the arranged number of vehicles that Serbia will be exporting to EEU countries. Furthermore, he emphasised that Serbia presents a rare example of a country that has bilateral agreements with both the EU and the EEU, making it into a highly alluring destination for a variety of foreign investors. Ljajic concluded by saying that the signing of a duty-free agreement with member countries of the EEU is a great opportunity for Serbian businessmen to move their products and establish themselves on a larger market.

In order to provide a bit of background to the story, it should be said that the EEU consists of Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan and Russia, all of which present a huge market of diverse business possibilities for Serbia. Moreover, the EEU has been created to comprehensively upgrade, raise the competitiveness, and improve cooperation between national economies, while at the same time promoting stable development in order to raise the living standards of the nations of the Member-States. It has an international legal personality and is established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.


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