EU-CEFTA trade relations
Since the launch of the “Stabilisation and Association Process” by the EU in early 2000 as a strategy to integrate the Western Balkans region progressively into the EU sphere, the EU has gradually adopted bilateral agreements known as “Stabilisation and Association Agreements”, notably with:
- Albania (2009);
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (2015);
- Kosovo* (This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence. (2016);
- Montenegro (2010);
- North Macedonia (2004); and
- Serbia (2013).
The SAAs established free trades area between the EU and the respective Western Balkan Party over transitional periods. Transition periods have lapsed for all Western Balkan Parties, except for Kosovo*, where it will lapse in 2026.The SAAs aim to eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers between the EU and the Western Balkan Parties, covering a wide range of goods. Trade in some agricultural and fishery products are not fully liberalised and may still be subject to some limited tariffs or quotas.
For more information regarding the SAAs concluded between the EU and the Western Balkan Parties, please refer to the following website of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade and to the websites of the relevant ministries of each Party:
- Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation of Albania;
- Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade of Kosovo; *
- Ministry of Economic Development of Montenegro;
- Ministry of foreign affairs and Foreign Trade of the Republic of North Macedonia; and
- Ministry of Internal and Foreign Trade of Serbia.
Autonomous trade preferences granted to all Western Balkan countries
Since 2000, the EU grants special autonomous trade preferences to all Western Balkan Economies. These preferences, which were extended in 2020, allow most goods to enter the EU duty-free and quota-free. Only a few products, such as sugar, wine, and certain fisheries products, are subject to limited quotas or tariffs.
For a more comprehensive view of what these preferences entail, please refer to Regulation (EU) 2024/823 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 February 2024 on exceptional trade measures for countries and territories participating in or linked to the Stabilisation and Association process or check for a particular product to be exported to the EU via the My Trade Assistant.
The EU and Moldova signed an Association Agreement in June 2014, which came into full effect in 2016. The Agreement includes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which reduces tariffs on goods traded between the EU and Moldova, simplifies Customs procedures, and encourages closer economic integration by aligning Moldova’s regulations with EU standards.
For more information regarding the Association Agreement concluded between the EU and Moldova, please refer to the following website of the European Commission’s Access2Markets website and to the website of the relevant Ministry in Moldova.
Autonomous trade measures
The EU has temporarily lifted all tariffs on agricultural products originating in Moldova until July 2025. This measure is part of the EU’s broader support for Moldova in light of Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.
For a more comprehensive overview of these preferences, please refer to Regulation (EU) 2024/1501 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on temporary trade-liberalisation measures supplementing trade concessions applicable to products from the Republic of Moldova under the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Moldova, of the other part.