EU: Serbia can trade freely with China, until it joins the Union

Photo: Tanjug/AP/Darko Vojinovic

"Serbia is free to conclude trade agreements with other countries or organizations, before joining the European Union, provided that this doesn't go against the provisions of the Stabilization and Association Agreement between the EU and Serbia," said a spokesman for the European Commission (EC), Peter Stano.

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Referring to the announcement of the Serbia-China Free Trade Agreement, Stano added that "as part of the negotiations on EU membership, Serbia has the obligation to withdraw from all bilateral free trade agreements on the day of joining the Union."

After his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that such an agreement should be signed by the end of the year, stressing that "it will significantly increase trade between Serbia and China, and additionally attract foreign investors to Serbia."

EC spokesman Stano also pointed out that "the EU is the most important trade and investment partner of Serbia." According to him, "in 2020, 61 percent of Serbia's trade was with the European Union, with very favorable growth dynamics, while China's share in foreign trade was 8 percent."

When it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI) in Serbia, the share of companies from the EU was 69 percent, while direct investment from China was 3.5 percent, said the spokesman for the EC.

(Telegraf Biznis/Beta)