RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/REG18/N/2
13May1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1865)
Original: English
EUROPE AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
Notification from theParties totheAgreement
Thefollowing communication, dated 15April 1996, hasbeenreceived from thePermanent
Delegation oftheCommission oftheEuropean Communities andthePermanent Mission oftheSlovak
Republic withtherequest thatitbedistributed toWTO Members.
_________________________
TheDelegations oftheEuropean Communities andtheSlovak Republic havethehonour to
inform Members oftheWTO that,following thedissolution oftheCzech andSlovak Federal Republic,
theEuropeAgreementbetweentheCommunityandtheCzechandSlovakFederalRepublicwasreplaced
byAgreements witheachofthesuccessor states. TheEurope Agreement between theEuropean
Communities andtheSlovak Republic wassigned on4October 1993 andcame intoforce on
1February 1995.1
Thebasic provisions oftheEurope Agreement relating totrade ingoods areunchanged from
theearlier Agreement, although some technical adjustments have been included reflecting the
consequences ofthedissolution oftheFederation.
Theobjective oftheEurope Agreement istogradually establish afreetrade areabetween the
European Communities andtheSlovak Republic inthesense ofArticle XXIV oftheGATT 1994.
Thisfreetrade areawillbeestablished overamaximum period often10years, attheendofwhich
duties andother restrictive regulations ofcommerce willhavebeeneliminated onsubstantially alltrade
between thesignatories.
TheMembers oftheWTO willrecall thattheTrade inGoods aspect oftheEurope Agreement
between theCzech andSlovak Federal Republic (ascontained intheInterim Agreement) wasnotified
under Article XXIV oftheGATT on3April 1992 (ref.L/6992).
1ThetextoftheAgreement iscirculated indocument WT/REG18/7.