The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Serbia and China, signed in October 2023, came into effect on July 1. Covering over 20,000 products, the agreement grants Serbian firms preferential access to the expansive Chinese market. The deal will boost exports, stimulate investment and production capacities, and enhance overall economic activity and competitiveness in Serbia. The FTA involves reciprocal elimination of tariffs on 90% of tariff lines, with more than 60% taking immediate effect. Starting this month, exports of products such as fresh apples, blueberries, dried plums, jams, seeds, and beef from Serbia to the Chinese market can proceed without tariffs. […]
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Gecić Law experts will participate in multiple sectoral training sessions on the EU’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in October and November. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia initiated the training program within the Swiss Program on Capacities for Trade Policies (C4TP) framework. CBAM training sessions will hence take place in several cities in Serbia during the next two months. These sessions are particularly tailored to the economic sectors affected by the CBAM regulation. First CBAM Training Session on Fertilizers On Monday, the program started its first full-day workshop at the Chamber of […]
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In February, the Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia ratified the Agreement on the Conditions for Free Access to the Labor Market in the Western Balkans and the Agreement on the Interconnection of Schemes for Electronic Identification of the citizens of the Western Balkans as part of the Open Balkans initiative. Both agreements were signed in Tirana on December 21, 2021, by the President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama. The Agreement on the Conditions for Free Access to […]
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The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed yesterday in Bali the world’s first bloc-to-bloc Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA). Most EU member states so far have had bilateral agreements with some of the ASEAN countries, with different scopes and rules. However, very few had such arrangements with all the countries of ASEAN. The new agreement now includes all member states of each region and replaces all existing contracts with a unified framework, connecting more than one billion people. The agreement aims to revitalize air travel and transport between Southeast Asia and Europe, which has […]
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The Open Balkans initiative aims to encourage and facilitate cooperation among the Balkans countries. The initiative was conceived across the Balkans, where the different cities symbolize the various stages in the development of the Open Balkans initiative. In this article, we present the chronology of building ties between the countries by virtually visiting six key locations. (Note: If you decide to visit these towns, we advise you to create your itinerary on Google Maps, not by this article :D). The first location associated with the birth of the Open Balkans project (as we know it today) is Novi Sad, and […]
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The first post-covid Global Meeting of the elite global legal alliance TerraLex was last week’s highlight as lawyers from 180 member law firms from across the globe gathered in Oslo. Delegates had the opportunity to learn, collaborate and network with their colleagues in a unique series of activities and a relaxed collegial atmosphere. The Gecić Law team took to the center stage, as for the first time the alliance built its annual meeting around a single theme, choosing one of the hottest topics in the legal world today – ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance. The gathering took a multifaceted approach […]
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Six months after the last summit in Tirana, high-ranking officials from Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia gathered again in Ohrid as a part of the Open Balkans Initiative. This summit was also attended by the Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement of the European Union, the Prime Minister of Montenegro, and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, indicating that the EU fully supports the Open Balkans Initiative, and signals that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro could soon become part of the Initiative. Summit in Ohrid was marked by further expansion of cooperation between Serbia, Albania, and […]
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Building on our series of CBAM articles, we report shocking news from the EU Parliament. Members of the EU Parliament (“MEPs”) unexpectedly rejected a series of legislative proposals from the “Fit for 55” legislative package, including the EU Parliament’s negotiating position on the introduction of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”). Back in 2005, the EU established the EU Emissions Trading System (“ETS”) which has since become a cornerstone of the EU’s climate change policy and its most important tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since its inception, the ETS is constantly being reformed which was one of the goals […]
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With the idea of implementing the four freedoms of the European Union in the Western Balkans as soon as possible; movement of people, goods, services and capital, the Open Balkan initiative was launched in October 2019 by the leaders of Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia. It is a major step in cooperation between the three countries, aiming to increase trade and improve bilateral relations. Another important milestone is expected this week at the Summit to take place in Ohrid, June 7-8. The legal framework and basis for concrete activities within the Open Balkan initiative were established by declarations and agreements […]
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In anticipation of the June 7 plenary session when the European Parliament will take on the CBAM proposal, we delve into the key ideas behind and the expected game-changing impact of the regulation on international trade. In this edition of our CBAM series, find out more about how this wind of change may affect consumers, businesses and economies across the globe. Why is the EU introducing a new carbon pricing policy? As a new policy, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) is being developed to work in conjunction with the EU Emission Trading System (“ETS”) – a cornerstone of the EU’s […]
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A ground-breaking Partnership, Trade, and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and Serbia was signed in Belgrade on Monday. The comprehensive document sets a new legal basis for the development of bilateral trade, as it effectively replaces Serbia’s Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU and ensures continuity in preferential trade between the two countries after January 1, 2021, when the UK formally withdrew from the European Union. As it comes into force, the Agreement will reduce the added complexity and expenses businesses have had to face since the beginning of this year, with customs duties of up to 20% being introduced. This has significantly affected both Serbian exporters and more than 400 […]
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If you think you have seen “everything” in 2020, well, think again! This is the year that sees water traded on the stock exchange for the first time ever. News from Wall Street that water is to be traded on the stock exchange spread quickly and overshadowed a raft of other, important financial stories. This December the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange, the CME Group, launched futures contracts tied to the spot price of water in California, a market of $ 1.1 billion. The very concept of trading water inevitably gives us all pause for thought about the reasons for […]
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The purpose of this brief is to highlight the consequences of the unilateral decision by the state of Croatia, as a member of the European Union, to close its borders for transport coming from Serbia between 17 and 25 September 2015 and to emphasize potential breaches of legal principles the EU has been founded on. We take into consideration the multitude of acts, treaties and agreements which constitute legal sources of the European Union, as well as precedents set by the highest court of the EU, and explore potential avenues for legal redress for those whose interests were harmed by […]
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