The free trade zone is seen as a stepping stone for the region's deeper economic integration within the European Union.
The members of the pact are Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo.
(dpa)
RFE/RL Briefings
BEYOND THE HEADLINES. RFE/RL regularly hosts briefings and discussions with leading experts on our broadcast region. In 2006, some of the crucials topics were gas wars, elections in Belarus and Ukraine, Iran's nuclear program, and unrest in Central Asia....(more)