Brussels, 15/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - In its conclusions on the Balkans, which it adopted on Monday (EUROPE 9305), the "External Relations" Council welcomes progress made in negotiations for an enlarged and amended Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), stressing that the door remains open for the two countries (Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) which have not yet initialled the agreement to be able to sign it with the other parties on 19 December, at a Summit to be held in Bucharest. 10 countries are set to take part in this initiative, which aims to reinforce commercial free-trade in the countries of South Eastern Europe and to replace the multitude of existing bilateral agreements: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, but Bulgaria and Romania are to leave the mechanism on 1 January next year as they accede to the EU. At this stage, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia are still seeking to ensure the best trade conditions for their key industries: agricultural products for Sarajevo and tobacco for Belgrade, amongst other things. The new version of the CEFTA will take effect next summer. (ab)