F13 - Trade Policy; International Trade OrganizationsReturn

Trade Facilitation is a topic of the discussion of the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since almost its establishment, since the WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore in 1996. The issue has been included into the agenda of the current round of negotiations that has been open as Doha Development Agenda in 2001 and remains in it also after exclusion of some topics from the agenda in 2004. Trade Facilitation is in interest of developed as well as developing countries. The core of the issue is facilitation and harmonization of procedures accompanying business operation. Progress in this field will have significant benefits for business sphere, but it requires an extended investment from the participating governments. The text sums up the area of Trade Facilitation and deals with interests of the EU in this field.

Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a relatively new initiative within the European Neighbourhood Policy. The EU assists the EaP partner countries in their economic and political reforms and offers them better access to the EU internal market and economic integration in form of the deep and comprehensive free trade agreements, parts of the Association Agreements. However, the EU trade policy priorities towards the EaP are threatened by Russia's ambitions to deepen integration in the Eurasian space. Further development of the EU trade policy and the position of Russia will be affected by the outcomes of the third EaP Summit in November 2013 and by the subsequent revolutionary events in Ukraine. The aim of this paper is to highlight the objectives of the EU foreign trade policy towards the EaP, to evaluate the prospects of creating a free trade zone between the EU and EaP countries in the context of Eurasian integration ambitions and mutual cooperation with Russia.