CEFTA

The Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA, is a treaty between countries that establishes a
free trade across borders. The goal is to be able to TRADE without having to go through things like
tariffs, taxes or any other barrier. It makes the process go more smoothly and creates a better bond
between the countries. 

The purpose of the declaration was to mobilise joint efforts for the integration of participating countries
in Western European institutions and, through this, to join European political, economic, security and
legal systems and look for opportunities for close economic and political co-operation. This fundamental
objective includes the consolidation of democracy and the market economy. An understanding on the
formation of a free trade area was reached in October 1991.

The agreement was first founded by on December 21 1992 by Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary in
the Polish city of Krakow but wasn’t enforced until March 1993. The Free Trade Agreement wasn’t an
pioneer-idea, the European Free Trade Association had already begun in 1960 as well as the European
Economic Area in 1994, which was one of the most important economic agreements within Europe, and
still plays an important role today. 
Original Agreement

 The original CEFTA agreement was signed by the Visegrád Group countries, that is by Poland,
Hungary and Czech and Slovak republics (at the time parts of the Czech and Slovak Federative
Republic) on 21 December 1992 in Kraków, Poland. 
 It came into force in July 1994. Through CEFTA, participating countries hoped to mobilize efforts
to integrate into Western European institutions and through this, to join European political,
economic, security and legal systems, thereby consolidating democracy and free-
market economics.
 The agreement was amended by the agreements signed on 11 September 1995 in Brno and on 4
July 2003 in Bled.
 Slovenia joined CEFTA in 1996, Romania in 1997, Bulgaria in 1999, Croatia in 2003 and
Macedonia in 2006.

2006 Agreement

 All of the parties of the original agreement had now joined the EU and thus left CEFTA.
Therefore it was decided to extend CEFTA to cover the rest of the Balkan states, which already
had completed a matrix of bilateral free trade agreements in the framework of the Stability Pact
for South Eastern Europe. 
 On 6 April 2006, at the South East Europe Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest, a joint
declaration on expansion of CEFTA to Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro and UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo was adopted.
 Accession of Ukraine has also been discussed.
 The new enlarged agreement was initialled on 9 November 2006 in Brussels and was signed on
19 December 2006 at the South East European Prime Ministers Summit in Bucharest.
 The agreement went into effect on 26 July 2007 for Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova and
Montenegro, on 22 August for Croatia, on 24 October for Serbia, and on 22 November 2007 for
 Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of the agreement was to establish a free trade zone in the
region by 31 December 2010.
 After the declaration of independence of Kosovo on 17 February 2008 UNMIK continued to
represent Kosovo at all CEFTA meetings. 
 At the end of 2008 Kosovo changed its customs stamps replacing UNMIK with Kosovo. 
 This resulted in a trade blockade from Serbia and Bosnia that do not recognise the Republic of
Kosovo.
 The government in Pristina retaliated by imposing its own blockade on imports from Serbia. 
 This led to clashes at border posts in July 2011.