CEFTA

The Additional Protocol 5 (AP5) to the CEFTA Agreement provides the legal basis for the adoption of mutual recognition programmes to facilitate market access and promote trade. On 25 February 2020, the CEFTA Joint Committee adopted Decision No. 1/2020 on Facilitating Trade for Fruit and Vegetables. The objective of the Decision is to facilitate trade between the CEFTA Parties.

 More specifically, Decision No. 1/2020 aims at facilitating trade in fruit and vegetables by:

• Simplifying inspections through risk-based assessments and certificate recognition, enabling the mutual recognition of phytosanitary documents on the safety of fruits and vegetables;
  
• Creating a system for sharing information and notifying each other of data relevant to the trade in fruit and vegetables;
  
• Mutually recognising the professional operators registered in a Register of Professional Operators trading in Fruit and Vegetables, which is to be created in each CEFTA Party, to allow professional operators to trade in the CEFTA region with a single registration; and
  
• Establishing a CEFTA Common List of Fruit and Vegetables for which phytosanitary certificates are mandatory to gain transparency and streamline compliance by operators.

Furthermore, Decision No. 1/2020 imposes specific obligations on CEFTA Parties to ensure the effective implementation of official controls and to facilitate trade in fruit and vegetables. These obligations include the establishment in each CEFTA Party of a Multi-Annual Control Plan for Fruit and Vegetables to verify compliance with the rules for the production and trade of fruit and vegetables.