EU-Serbia free trade deal implemented
(BELGRADE) - A free-trade agreement between Serbia and the European Union came into force on Monday, an EU official in Belgrade told AFP, as the Balkan nation hopes for an influx of foreign investment.
The agreement "has effectively come into force and... formalises a trade liberalisation system guaranteed by international law," said an official from the EU delegation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"Concretely this means that economic players, local and foreign, can count on clear and predictable rules of the game and can plan their activities knowing that the EU market will remain open to the Serbian market."
Full trade liberalisation between the EU and Serbia will take six years.
The free trade agreement was signed in 2008 but has been delayed because the Netherlands wanted assurances from Belgrade on its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
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