EU: Serbia is Free to Trade with China, Until It Becomes Part of the Union

European Commission spokesman Peter Stano pointed out that “the EU is the most important trade and investment partner of Serbia”.

– Serbia is free to make trade agreements with other countries or organizations until it joins the European Union, provided that it doesn’t run counter to the stipulations of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia – Stano said.

Regarding the announcement of the Serbia-China Free Trade Agreement, Stano added that “as part of the EU accession negotiations, Serbia has the obligation to withdraw from all bilateral free trade agreements on the day it becomes a member of the Union”.

Following a conversation with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic stated that such an agreement was supposed to be signed by the end of 2022 and emphasized that “it will considerably increase the trade between Serbia and China and additionally attract foreign investors to Serbia”.

Stano also pointed out that “the EU is the most important trade and investment partner of Serbia”. According to him, Serbia “had 61% of its trade with the European Union in 2020, with a very favorable growth dynamic, whereas the share of China in the external trade was 8%”.

When it comes to foreign direct investments (FDI) in Serbia, the share of EU companies was 69%, whereas direct investments from China comprised 3.5%, pointed out the EC spokesman.

European Commission

Peter Stano

Free Trade Agreement with China

EU membership

EU accession

Stabilization and Association Agreement