CROATIA TO BECOME CEFTA MEMBER TOMORROW

ZAGREB, Feb (Hina) - Croatia will tomorrow become the eighth member of the Central European Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and will participate as full member at a meeting of member-countries state secretaries in Ljubljana on March 6. #L# The Croatian parliament yesterday ratified an agreement on the country's joining CEFTA, as had other CEFTA members. The agreement was signed on December 5. As the agreement takes effect, all free trade agreements with CEFTA members -- Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, -- cease to be valid. They will be replaced by the agreement on joining the association. The economy ministry expects that the application of the agreement would increase the current degree of trade and enable Croatian business people to become more present on CEFTA markets. A novelty accompanying the agreement is the start of applying diagonal cumulating of origin between Croatia and other member countries, as well as diagonal cumulating of origin of products imported from the EU and EFTA, exported into CEFTA countries. This will enable Croatian exporters to be by far more present on CEFTA markets than they have been so far, the ministry said. (hina) lml