The leaders of Albania, Serbia, and North Macedonia signed six agreements on Tuesday (December 21) to promote the free movement of trade, people, and services in the three Western Balkans.
Albanian Prime Minister Eddie Rama met with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zayev and Serbian President Alexander Vucic in the Albanian city of Elbasan Just one day after the Albanian capital protested the initiative, the Serbian flag was burned and several people were arrested.
These agreements belong to the so-called Open Balkan Initiative, formerly known as Mini Schengen. It envisages the cross-border trade, residence, commerce and movement of citizens of every country in every signatory country.
The goal is to create a borderless zone to promote open trade and investment between the Western Balkans, and then move towards EU membership, which is still far away.
Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina have not yet signed the initiative, citing Serbia’s failure to recognize Kosovo’s sovereignty and fear that the project might undermine its accession to the EU and effectively exclude it from the EU.
“The agreement to be signed will take an important step towards our goal; to ensure the complete freedom of movement of people, goods, capital and services,” Rama said in his opening speech, and once again called on “everyone to join.”
“‘Opening the Balkans’ is an inclusive initiative, and of course three other countries in the region are encouraged to participate in this effort. As we move forward for the benefit of the people,” Rama added.
He pointed out that the opening of the Balkans is part of the Berlin process-an initiative aimed at promoting regional cooperation between the Western Balkans and their European integration-and is a milestone in preparing them for EU integration.
To address concerns that the EU might not approve of the initiative, Rama introduced the expansion commissioner Oliver Varhelyi and asked him if he supports the opening of the Balkans.
Varhelyi replied: “I have always been very positive about this proposal… You must continue to promote this initiative… I appreciate your strong feelings about this initiative.”
He added: “We in the EU believe that according to EU rules, any regional cooperation is welcome, and for the benefit of both parties…I invite the other three partners to return to regional cooperation, because this not only increases business opportunities, but also it Provides more employment opportunities. It can change the local reality.”
In his opening speech, Vucic once again called on other countries to join the initiative, adding that it “lays the foundation for our children’s future.”
“The goal is to connect people with each other. Enable people to communicate with each other. When I met with companies last night, I saw that they are very eager to start business in Serbia or Northern Macedonia; I also know Serbian businessmen who want to invest in Albania and Northern Macedonia. The same is true for tourists,” he said.
Zaev pointed out that this will be his last public Balkan meeting, possibly because he promised to resign as prime minister.
In his speech, he said that the initiative shows that these three countries “will not become hostages in the process of EU integration.”
“The open Balkans has made us three great leaders; this is a great friendship that we can develop together. This move is for the benefit of our citizens, and is a tool to get us out of the troubled past.”
Six agreements were signed on Tuesday. These include the Agreement on Conditions for Free Entry into the Labor Market, the Agreement on Connecting Citizens’ Electronic Identification Program and the Agreement on Cooperation in Veterinary, Phytosanitary, Food and Feed Safety in the Western Balkans.
Agreements on mutual recognition of approved safe and secure business entities have also been signed between Serbia and Albania and between North Macedonia and Albania.
The sixth agreement involves the cooperation of three national certification agencies.
In fact, citizens of these three countries can now live in one of the other countries without a permit, their qualifications are recognized, and goods and services will cross national borders with minimal inspections.
“Soon, at the beginning of the new year, they [exporters, importers, and farmers] Will no longer experience the pressure of waiting at the border,” Rama said.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
