Skopje, 3 December 2021 (MIA) – Customs Administration director Slavica Kutirov and her Serbian counterpart Branko Radujko signed Friday a Protocol on mutual recognition of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) authorizations, including 34 companies from Serbia and 21 businesses from North Macedonia. The Protocol results from the conclusions of the ministerial meeting within the Open Balkan initiative in Nis on November 13-14, the Customs Administration said in a press release. Starting from December as pilot, and officially as of January 2022, companies will apply the benefits when conducting customs procedures in both countries, based on the same regulations and criteria. Through the Protocol, the customs authorities of both countries mutually recognize the process of validating AEO authorizations, implemented within the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) process that started in May 2019 and finished in January 2021. By this, North Macedonia and Serbia have become the first countries in the Western Balkans to mutually launch the operational use of the procedures and benefits acquired by the holders of AEO authorizations. The Protocol is set to contribute to facilitated movement of commodities between the two countries and cutting export and import costs for holders of these authorizations, reads the press release.