German Government on “Open Balkan”: Any regional cooperation in the Western Balkans is beneficial

English

Gazeta Express

11/08/2021 13:59

Prime ministers Edi Rama of Albania and Zoran Zaev of North Macedonia, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are pushing forward the regional initiative of Mini-Schengen rebranded recently as “Open Balkan.” But the three other countries of the Western Balkans – Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina seem reluctant in joining the initiative. But despite scepticism, the regional initiatives are being supported by the United States and Germany.

In an exclusive statement to Gazeta Express the Federal Government of Germany says that any regional cooperation is beneficial. German Government says that the cooperation should be inclusive and open to all six countries in the region.

“Any regional cooperation in the Western Balkans is beneficial. At the same time, it is important that cooperation remains inclusive and open to all six countries in the region. Therefore, we strongly support the Action Plan of the Common Regional Market,” a spokesperson of the German Government told Gazeta Express.

“The heads of government of the six Western Balkan countries reaffirmed the commitment to this historic project at the last Summit of the Berlin Process on 5 July. The urgent task now is to finalize negotiations of the four agreements on travel mobility with ID cards, travel mobility for third country citizens and the recognition of academic and professional qualifications. As German Chancellor Merkel underscored during the press conference following the Summit of the Berlin Process on 5 July, efforts should be redoubled to achieve this important step forward until the EU-Western Balkans Summit on 6 October,” a spokesperson of the German Government said. He also said that the German commitment to the EU perspective of the Western Balkans countries, based on the new enlargement methodology, remains unchanged.

Also US stated last week that they support the efforts of Western Balkan countries to strengthen economic integration and called on the Government of Kosovo to “open-mindedly” join the ‘Open Balkan’ initiative to strengthen economic and regional integration. /GazetaExpress/