EU4Trade – Accelerating Regional Economic Integration and EU Single Market Access for the Western Balkans
GIZ
02.2025-01.2029
Overall Objective
The Overall Objective of the Action is to strengthen regional economic integration in the West-ern Balkans in line with the requirements of the EU Single Market.
Summary of the Project
The Multi-Donor Action “EU4Trade: Accelerating Regional Economic Integration and EU Single Market Access for the Western Balkans” is jointly co-financed by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ as part of the BMZ project “RegioTrade – Enhancing Regional Economic Integration in the Western Balkans through Trade”.
Strengthening regional economic integration harbours significant economic potential for the Western Balkan region and is a critical prerequisite for the region’s accession to the European Union. In particular, the EU’s Growth Plan for the Western Balkans’ (GP) presents promising opportunities, allowing these countries to benefit from the advantages of the EU Single Market even before full membership. However, to capitalize on this, the countries must implement economic reforms that align with EU regulations and standards. A key focus of the Growth Plan is trade integration, particularly the expansion of the free movement of goods and ser-vices, including e-commerce and the improvement of the region’s quality infrastructure sys-tems (particularly through the establishment of the Single Market Academy). These issues are also central to the ‘Common Regional Market Action Plan 2025-2028’ (CRM AP). The Common Regional Market is an initiative by the Western Balkan countries designed to reduce economic fragmentation and enhance regional integration. Despite these efforts, the implementation of regional trade agreements remains slow in some areas and lacks full harmonization, which can create additional barriers to intra-regional trade and trade with the EU.
This Action will therefore support the Western Balkan 6 (WB6) in the harmonisation and im-plementation of trade-related reforms consistent with the priorities of the GP and CM AP and in line with the EU Acquis
Activities
Output 1: Free trade in goods
- Provide expert advice on risk management for customs and border authorities to streamline cross-border trade processes.
• Support risk-based procedures to reduce official controls for fruit and vegetable trade.
• Support customs authorities in the mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes.
• Strengthen the regional AEO association to promote cooperation and knowledge-sharing among AEO operators.
• Support pre-arrival processing for postal and express shipments through Electronic Advanced Data sharing.
• Build the capacity of customs authorities and partners on the EU VAT e-commerce package, ICS2 and risk management for large-scale e-commerce parcels.
• Organise exchanges on EU agreements for the mutual recognition of conformity assessments.
• Support the recognition of aligned documents, including contingency plans and surveillance programmes.
• Organise exchanges on monitoring plans and sample-testing results.
• Promote regional exchanges on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
• Deliver capacity-building through the Single Market Academy (SMA) to strengthen quality infrastructure institutions and support alignment with EU standards.
Output 2: Trade in services
- Support parcel delivery within CEFTA through regulatory and non-regulatory measures aligned with the EU acquis and CEFTA decisions.
- Provide tailored support to CEFTA parties to implement the CEFTA decision on e-commerce facilitation.
- Strengthen public- and private-sector stakeholders’ capacity to respond to the changing regulatory environment.
- Organise exchanges on EU regulations and provide national expert advice on trade in services.
- Advise the e-commerce umbrella organisation on representation of interests and organisational development.
- Support implementation of the CEFTA decision on trade in services by travel agencies and tour operators.
Results
- Stronger regional cooperation to facilitate trade in goods and services within the Western Balkans and with the EU
- Simpler and more predictable cross-border trade, with shorter border-crossing times and fewer physical controls
- Improved cooperation among customs, market surveillance and other relevant authorities
- Stronger quality infrastructure institutions and closer alignment with EU standards and requirements
- Improved capacity to apply EU-related rules and procedures for digital trade, e-commerce and parcel delivery. Stronger institutional capacities to support trade in services, including tourism. More businesses able to benefit from cross-border trade opportunities, including women entrepreneurs in online trade
