KOSOVO NEGOTIATING FREE TRADE WITH SLOVENIA, CROATIA, BOSNIA

PRISTINA, Sept 7 (Hina) - The Kosovo Ministry of Trade and Industry has been negotiating with Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina about the signing of a memorandum of understanding which should result in an agreement on trade liberalisation, the Kosovo government said on Saturday. #L# "Talks with the three countries should be completed very soon and we will sign the memorandum of understanding with Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina," the ministry said. The memorandum should lead to the signing of an agreement on trade liberalisation, however, Kosovo cannot sign it because the Yugoslav province, which is under international administration, has still not solved the issue of its political status and is not a full member of the Stability Pact. The agreement on free trade among Southeast European countries is one of the initiatives launched by the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe which is aimed at promoting free trade among countries in the region by removing customs barriers. The European Union has warned Kosovo that it has no right to sign free trade agreements as only the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia can do it. (hina) rml