Becht attended the Euro-Balkan Ministerial of Economy Ministers from the EU and the region, which is taking place in Tirana within the framework of the Berlin Process, with the participation of over 20 high-level delegations.
Becht admitted that France has been absent from the Western Balkans for a very long time, but as he pointed out, “it is re-engaging since 2019 in all areas”.
The French minister said that it is necessary to speed up the process of economic and social cooperation of this region with the EU, which is also the final destination.

“It is needed more economy and integration for the entire region. The SMEs have also shown us the practical parts and two things come out that are closely related to each other. Large companies such as SMEs have their value in the share of exchanges in the Western Balkans, but do not always have the resources to study the market and regulatory space of 6 different countries.

Therefore, Becht emphasized that the objective of this meeting is to speed up the interconnections between the countries of the Western Balkans and the single market of the EU.
“If done in the right way, this creates opportunities for convergence in the single market, facilitates the involvement of the private sector and will be a very important contribution to the acceleration of the EU accession”, he added.

Becht also assessed that an impressive work has been done in terms of the common market and the Berlin Process in the Western Balkans.
“There is an important list of measures that will deliver a concrete impact in terms of trade, professional services and financial transactions. Professional services are increasingly becoming a regional element. Financial transactions will be less expensive and faster, and SMEs will be the main beneficiaries in this process”, emphasized Becht.
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