Economic relations in the Western Balkans after Croatia's departure from CEFTA

Abstract

To begin with, it is worth defining the concept of the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans is a relatively new term, which the European Union has used since the beginning of the 21st century to define the States located in the territory of the Balkans, which are not members of the European Union (except Turkey).

The first States to embark on the path towards regional economic integration in the territory of Eastern Europe were Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland. The first enlargement of the Visegrad Group (precursor of CEFTA2) occurred in 1993, after the division of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which, having become independent countries, remained on the path of regional economic integration, but the enlargement in that moment was not territorial, but only increased the number of members. Once the negotiations within the framework of the Višegrad Group were completed, the formalization of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) was held in Krakow, signed by Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This Treaty entered into force on March 1, 1993. Later, Slovenia (1996), Romania (1997) and Bulgaria (1999) would join CEFTA. The first State in the Western Balkans to join CEFTA was Croatia (2003), while the other Western Balkan countries would join after the signing of the Bucharest Agreement, which came into force at the beginning of 2007, not counting Macedonia, which He did it a year before.

The idea of ​​CEFTA is to promote the economic recovery and development of the economies of the signatory countries, while preparing them for their accession to the European Union. The new moment in relation to CEFTA was July 1, 2003, when Croatia became a member of the European Union, leaving at the same time CEFTA. With this, Croatia lost all the advantages it had as a signatory party to the Treaty. Their trade with CEFTA States is regularized through the Stabilization and Association Agreement between the EU and CEFTA countries. In the text that follows we will try to offer at least part of the answer to the effects of this fact on trade relations in the Western Balkans.