Kosovo to tackle Serbia blockade at CEFTA

Blockade of Kosovo products by Serbia and Bosnia will be raised at the next Central European Free Trade Agreement meeting.

Kosovo officials have rejected a proposal of an influential think-tank, the Gap Institute, to pull out of the Central European Free Trade Agreement if Serbia and Bosnia continue to block its exports.

Instead, Kosovo, which is chairing the organisation, said it would raise the issue of accepting goods marked with Kosovo customs stamps at this year’s second CEFTA meeting in late April.

Ever since Kosovo declared independence in 2008, goods stamped “Republic of Kosovo” have been barred from entering Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The blockade was introduced despite Kosovo’s membership of CEFTA, an agreement aimed at ensuring tariff-free trade across the region.