Serbia is in a complex situation, because it wants to join both the EU and the World Trade Organization (WTO), which uses different measures of market protection, according to what was said at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

Speaking at a conference on the advantages and drawbacks of Serbia's membership in the WTO, State Secretary for Economy Verna Arsis explained that Serbia should first become a member of the WTO and then the EU, although there is no legal obligation to do things in that order.

Swiss Ambassador to Serbia Erwin Hofer agreed with Arsis, adding that his country had decided to stay out of the EU precisely because the WTO rules were more suitable for its needs. Serbia and Switzerland are both small countries whose chief international partner is the EU, he remarked.

Switzerland has been helping Serbia become a WTO member for seven years, and the most important thing right now is for the country to boost its export, which currently makes up a very small portion of the GDP, Hofer stated.

Serbia has the potential needed to increase export, but it has to improve standards and raise the quality and quantity of its goods.