Horticultural trade between south-eastern European countries could be commonplace by next year, as discussions for a free trade agreement gather pace.

Head of the Serbian delegation Dusan Lpondic said negotiations were progressing well and an appropriate pact should be in place by the end of the year, to see the 31 bilateral agreements combined into one simple trading structure.

The latest discussions have considered additional clauses, such as the right to intellectual property, which had not been included by all 31 agreements.

The model being proposed for the single agreement is based on the Central European Free Trade Area (CEFTA), which was established in 1992 to facilitate trade between certain Eastern European countries, including Poland, Hungary and Romania.

Dragan Barbutovski, a spokesman for the stability pact of South East Europe emphasised the importance of free trade for the region.

He said: “Traditionally a country trades with its neighbour. Unfortunately due to the troubled past of some of the countries in South East Europe, this had not been possible”.

Barbutovski added that unifying the agreements between the countries, labelled the “Spaghetti bowl” by EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, would allow them to improve international relations and prepare them for admittance to the EU in the future.

He said: “It is a great waiting room for EU enlargement, preparing members financially and socially for life in the Europe Union.”

According to an EU report, south-eastern European countries have already benefited from better links with the EU, with trade between the regions having doubled to €79bn from 2001-05.

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