Barroso to push for regional trade pact

Date: 23/03/06

A plan to establish a free trade zone in the Balkans is to be launched next month.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn will travel to Bucharest for the occasion, despite controversy sparked by the initial announcement of the plan, on 27 January.

Croatia's government reacted angrily to the proposal, accusing the EU of trying to resurrect Yugoslavia, despite Albania, Bulgaria and Romania being part of the plan.

Zagreb also feared that its bid for EU membership would be damaged by closer ties with Albania and other countries which are further away from joining the EU.

Croatia is the only state in the Western Balkans to have begun talks on EU membership.

In an attempt to combat the allegations, Bucharest has now been chosen as the venue to re-launch the project on 6 April. This should reassure Croatia, since Romania, which was outside the former Yugoslavia, is scheduled to join the EU next year.

According to diplomats, the trade zone is likely to be created by modifying the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and taking in new members.

Five of CEFTA's seven current members are now in the EU, but the 15-year old agreement is out of date and will need to be updated.

Article reports on a plan to establish a free trade zone in the Balkans to be launched on 6 April 2006. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn were to travel to Bucharest for the occasion, despite controversy sparked by the initial announcement of the plan, on 27 January 2006.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Press Release: IP/06/88: The Western Balkans on the road to the EU: consolidating stability and raising prosperity (27.1.06) http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/88&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

---