Regional Stability in the Balkans: FTA Implementation Between Serbia & Montenegro and FYR of Macedonia

One of the main foreign policy objectives of the Southeast European countries today is to join the European Union (EU).  As part of their preparation for EU accession, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (SCG), Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova signed and ratified 28 bilateral trade agreements since 2001.  The intention of these FTAs is to promote cross-border cooperation and regional integration in Southeast Europe (SEE), with the eventual goal of establishing a regional Free Trade Zone (FTZ). As part of a regional initiative to facilitate further liberalization of trade in the Western Balkans, UNDP/RBEC asked a team of students from SIPA to identify potential barriers regarding the implementation of these FTAs.  The objective of the workshop was to identify challenges to the implementation of the FTAs of Albania, Croatia, SCG, and FYROM, and identify current non-tariff barriers specifically focusing on those that inhibit the implementation of the FTA between SCG and FYROM.