CEFTA Secretariat trade services expert Zdravko Ilić said that the fact that the EU enlargement process has slowed down does not affect CEFTA’s activities too much because it is important for that organization that the legislation of the candidate countries be harmonized with the legal acquis of the Union.
He explained that the idea of CEFTA is to organize and improve trade routes between future EU members because countries automatically leave that agreement when they become part of the Union.
“The level of compliance with the acquis of the EU among the current candidate countries is patchy and varies in certain areas,” Ilić added.
He stated that CEFTA is trying to coordinate them so that at a certain point all countries are roughly at the same level in terms of compliance.
“We take from the existing European regulations what we consider useful to improve relations between us so as not to invent ‘hot water’,” Ilić pointed out.
He specified that different sectors of the economy are also at different levels in terms of compliance, because not all of them are developed and regulated in the same way.
Ilić said that tourism is an example of a sector in which there is strong regulation because not everyone can open a travel agency if they do not have a license for that activity.
As one of the main priorities of CEFTA in the coming period, he mentioned the field of electronic commerce, which showed great potential, especially during the pandemic.
Also, Ilić said that the priority is to try to stop the departure of the workforce from the region, which could be achieved if people are provided with a larger market that offers more opportunities for employment.
“In this sense, a package of measures related to the recognition of qualifications in CEFTA countries has been prepared,” emphasized Ilić.
He added that among the priorities is the reduction of bureaucracy, i.e. the number of documents required for placing products and services on the market.
