CEFTA

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: 

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: 

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.