The European Commission has adopted proposals aimed at increasing trade between the EU and neighboring countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region, including Serbia.
The Commission states that the proposals will modernize the EU’s preferential trade agreements with 20 trading partners by making the relevant “rules of origin” in those agreements “more flexible and business-friendly”, and to speed up economic recovery from the Covid 19 crisis and promote regional cooperation.
In addition to Serbia, the proposed changes include EU bilateral trade agreements with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the Faroe Islands, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Albania, BiH, Northern Macedonia, and Montenegro, and the so-called Kosovo.
“Rules of origin” are necessary under any trade agreement, because they determine which goods can have the advantage of the so-called preferential treatment.
Goods with preferential origin meet the conditions for import with lower customs rates or even zero rate, depending on the preferential tariff treatment, according to Brussels, B92 reports.
