CEFTA Week 2011 will be held in Paris on 22 and 23 November in the OECD’s Conference Centre.

One of the key aims of the 2011 Chairmanship is to promote CEFTA to a wide audience both within the CEFTA Parties and internationally and to demonstrate the economic impact the agreement is having on the region. A number of seminars and debates will be held in the day and a half leading up to the CEFTA Joint Committee meeting which will address different aspects of CEFTA and will cater to different interests including government officials, international organisations, the business community, the diplomatic community, the academic world and journalists. These events will provide an excellent opportunity to assess progress and economic impact to date and to debate new challenges and potential future developments. CEFTA Week will focus in particular on the main priorities for 2011 which include non-tariff barriers, the CEFTA trade portal, trade in services, customs cooperation, trade facilitation and investment. The events are being held immediately prior to the annual meeting of the CEFTA Joint Committee on 23 November, 2011. At the Joint Committee meeting, ministers from CEFTA Parties will review the implementation of this ambitious agreement and take decisions on future actions.

CEFTA Week will provide an opportunity for key stakeholders to voice your comments and make suggestions on the future development of CEFTA. Conclusions and recommendations from the various events will be subsequently submitted to the Joint Committee for their consideration and should be taken into account in the preparation of work programmes for the various CEFTA structures.

Official invitations to CEFTA week will be issued week of 17 October, 2011.

Below you will find the preliminary schedule of events. A more detailed programme schedule and individual session agendas will be available closer to the event.