At the sitting held on 13 May, the members of the Committee on Development and International Economic Relations discussed the Bill on the Confirmation of the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and EFTA States, submitted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

On the behalf of the submitters, the Bill was presented to the Committee members by representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development who reviewed the most important elements of the Agreement.

EFTA membership proved to be good practice in the past and an important step in a country’s approach to EU membership. EFTA is a loose organisation and has no common customs tariffs for third countries, primarily in the sphere of agriculture. Therefore, member states enter into special contracts with third country markets. The Agreement refers to the World Trade Organisation as it provides the broadest framework for the harmonisation of trade regulations. The Agreement also belongs to the mid-term generation of agreements and includes goods, competitions rules and public procurement rules, but not services. Concession issues received special focus in the drafting of the Agreement.

Considering that the sitting lacked a decision-making quorum, the address of the representative of the submitters, was only followed by a short discussion on the Bill on the Confirmation of the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and EFTA States.

The sitting was chaired by Milos Jevtic, Committee Chairman.