Serbia/EU – EU approves Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia

The Decision approves the 458 page Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia and substitutes ‘European Union’ for ‘European Community’ by virtue of the Treaty of Lisbon which entered into force on 1 December 2009, after the Agreement had been signed in 2008.  As with other such agreements, the  political dialogue in the Serbian Agreement is intended to promote: full integration of Serbia into the community of democratic nations and gradual rapprochement with the EU; convergence of positions on international issues; regional cooperation; and common views on security and stability in Europe.  In addition, the Agreement will gradually move Serbia and EU towards a free trade area, applying the Common Nomenclature in tariff classification in trade between the parties and generally abolishing duties and quotas and reducing other charges on industrial products.  Export duties and restrictions are also abolished under the Agreement in EU-Serbia trade.  Substantial concessions are also made in agricultural products.  Provisions on safeguards, as well as anti-dumping and subsidy issues are also included. Protocol 3 to the Agreement sets forth rules of origin.

In addition to the trade in goods, the Agreement includes titles covering movement of workers, establishment, supply of services, movement of capital; approximation of laws, law enforcement and competition rules (including IPR, public procurement, consumer protection, standardisation and conformity assessment);  justice, freedom and security (including data protection, identity theft, money laundering, controlling illicit drugs, combatting terrorism); cooperation policies (economy and trade, banking, statistics, SME’s, tourism, customs, fisheries, agriculture, education, taxation, energy, nuclear safety, environment, transport, R&D, public administration, etc.)