Unilateral application of EU deal from Jan. 1

Although the Council of Ministers has still to unblock the Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia, the government has decided to begin applying it from January 1. It was announced that the principle reason for this move was to cut the time between application of the agreement and the receipt of EU candidate status. Unilateral application of EU deal from Jan. 1 The government stressed that Serbia would gradually, over the course of six years, reduce customs duty on the import of goods from the EU, but without jeopardizing domestic industry. Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said yesterday after talks with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in Brussels that although the European Commission supported Serbia’s EU path, much depended on the government, which needed to adopt a series of laws necessary for Union membership. Rehn said that application of the agreement would enable Serbia to gain experience and move closer to the EU, and that Serbia could expect to receive candidate status in 2009. Speaking to B92, Economy Faculty Dean Nebojsa Savic warned that we should not expect everything to suddenly get better overnight on January 1, as this was a lengthy process. “One section of industry here believes that EU entry will be good for it, and that’s the healthy part of Serbian industry. There’s one section of industry that fears the competition and who it doesn’t suit. The reverse side of this whole issue is that we continually forget one thing—to look at the consumers’ place and role—who, with their disposable income should have access to the cheapest possible products. Opening up to the EU will mean cheaper goods for the consumer,“ said Savic. Yesterday's cabinet meeting (FoNet)

Unilateral application of EU deal from Jan. 1

The government stressed that Serbia would gradually, over the course of six years, reduce customs duty on the import of goods from the EU, but without jeopardizing domestic industry.

Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić said yesterday after talks with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in Brussels that although the European Commission supported Serbia’s EU path, much depended on the government, which needed to adopt a series of laws necessary for Union membership.

Rehn said that application of the agreement would enable Serbia to gain experience and move closer to the EU, and that Serbia could expect to receive candidate status in 2009.

Speaking to B92, Economy Faculty Dean Nebojša Savić warned that we should not expect everything to suddenly get better overnight on January 1, as this was a lengthy process.

“One section of industry here believes that EU entry will be good for it, and that’s the healthy part of Serbian industry. There’s one section of industry that fears the competition and who it doesn’t suit. The reverse side of this whole issue is that we continually forget one thing—to look at the consumers’ place and role—who, with their disposable income should have access to the cheapest possible products. Opening up to the EU will mean cheaper goods for the consumer,“ said Savić.