During his remarks at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Edi Rama, at the end of the Western Balkans-EU summit on the growth plan, held in Tirana, Varhelyi said that the Berlin process and the Open Balkan were important initiatives regarding the spirit of the single market of the Western Balkans and on which the growth plan is based.

“We are already talking and saying what we will implement from this plan for this year. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU are working to adopt the appropriate legislation. Therefore, today is a great encouragement for everyone, to move forward faster”, said Verhelyi.

“Prime Minister Rama mentioned CEFA, which will benefit all citizens. I would cite the green lanes, but there are other elements as well. For example, we used to have 20 years of waiting time for trucks, which is not the case now. But we can save even more time if we follow these rules. People can touch these things, feel them, be a part of them. Europe is very bureaucratic, but I think that this time we have the opportunity to show what are the economic benefits for a country that becomes a member of the EU and we have the opportunity to share these benefits with the region before you join the EU” , said Varhelyi.

According to him, today it is very difficult for the countries of the Western Balkans to face the competition within the European market, that is why it is needed the application of these rules , so that the Balkan region will be ready by 2027.

“We understand that participation in the single market is also about competition. And competition in the EU market is tough. The member states compared to those of the Western Balkans are more competitive. It would be unfair for us to ask our Western Balkan partners to participate in our single market where they have less opportunity to compete compared to our companies. For this reason, we are providing additional funding, as part of this plan, to help you implement these reforms, because most of them have financial costs, either for business, for society, or for the government”, said Varhelyi.
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