EN
Least developed countries (LDC) play marginal role in the global economy and in the global trading system. The international community has introduced a series of initiatives to provide these countries with more favourable market access conditions. One of them is the European Union’s programme – the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme providing duty-free and quota-free market access to all products except weapons and ammunition. Conditions for access to the EU market, are contingent not only upon the level of customs duty rates, but also rules of origin (RoO), as it is the latter that determines whether a lower rate of customs duty can be applied to imported goods or not. This article’s aim is to assess the significance of the rules of origin of goods in the European Union’s unilateral Generalised System of Preferences for the EBA system’s beneficiaries, with special attention given to changes introduced in 2011. To meet the objective hereof, not only empirical methods were employed (indirect observation and description), but also general methods, including deduction and induction. The following research techniques were used: a cause and effect analysis, a comparative analysis and synthesis. The research is based on statistical data provided by Eurostat and UNCTAD.