Asked about the effect of this initiative as the three countries are moving on the path to EU integration at different speeds, Prime Minister Rama said that, there are people who neither want to follow the Open Balkan initiative or see it succeed. When they say that this is an alternative to the EU, or when they say that it is an attempt to go back in time or recreate Yugoslavia, I want to put it in Albanian, because it is very important for Albanians.

The “Open Balkan” has nothing to do with Yugoslavia. As the next summit will address the tariff barriers, we intend to invite Italy, Greece and Hungary because we realized that it is not enough for our people, our producers and exporters to have completely free trade, like those in the EU. But they need to have fewer barriers when they arrive in the EU. So we will contact the EU countries and develop the process together in the framework of the Open Balkan for the common regional market with the process of joining the European common market. This is how the Open Balkan helps. Who would believe us if we do not show by deeds that we can come up to the level of EU ambition and conduct. “So the Open Balkan not only helps countries individually in economic terms by increasing their GDP through a larger economy but also in its efforts to join the EU,” Rama said.

For his part, President Vucic said that “Serbia supports Albania and North Macedonia on their pathway to EU accession.”

“We actually started speaking in one voice. This was a bit of a surprise for our European hosts. We have agreed on everything you say. The point is that if you ask us if we are the only country that has opened 4 chapters, it does not affect us. “We are so committed to this process that it does not matter,” he said.

Vucic stated that, “we will do our best to be on the side of North Macedonia and Albania. It is a process we do for ourselves. It is not a leadership mistake of Albania or North Macedonia. This is about EU leaders. You have delivered on everything and have not got what you want.”

Asked about Kosovo’s involvement in the ‘Open Balkan’ initiative, Vucic said that they have no problem with Kosovo sitting at the Open Balkan table.

“We have different views on Kosovo. Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia have different views in this regard, but this is not a reason for us not to speak or for someone not to join the “Open Balkan”. We can mention the Jarinje border crossing points between Kosovo and Serbia or towards the Presevo Valley or central Serbia as we say. Will it be easier for Albanians and Serbs if there were no such borders or queues for people to move freely? These create endless problems. “It would be easier if these were not,” he said.

For his part, PM of North Macedonia Zaev said that the Open Balkan is not a replacement for EU accession, but a reaction of our countries to EU’s incapacity to address the challenges.

The “Open Balkan” is an initiative for which we can do more for our citizens and the economies of our countries. I believe that a united region will be a stronger region in front of Europe and will deliver a positive impact,” said Zaev.
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The letter from the three leaders states that their vision is to overcome the social, economic and trade barriers that are slowing down the region’s economic growth through implementation of the four fundamental freedoms of the EU.

Although the Open Balkan initiative so far includes only Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia, Rama, Vucic and Zaev emphasize that the initiative has been and will be open to all other Western Balkan countries.

“Europe is not merely a continent, but a vision. For a long time, however, the citizens of the Western Balkans, as an integral part of the continent and of this vision, have been left out. The desire of our people to join the EU family has been ignored from time to time due to domestic policy of the member states, failure to deliver on the promises made and fear of the future. This has led to frustration, instability, emigration and a lack of large investments.

We, as leaders of our countries, can either stay idle and whine or spring into action. We chose the latter. In November 2019, we signed a preliminary agreement to advance the so-called Berlin Process by undertaking deeper regional cooperation.

Our vision is to overcome the social, economic and trade barriers that are slowing down our region’s economic growth through implementation of the four fundamental freedoms of the EU in our countries.
Since then we have met regularly and signed agreements that enable our citizens to work freely in the neighboring country; that reduce border controls which result in movement of goods without delay; establish mechanisms for the free travel of our citizens between our countries – just as EU citizens travel between them. Our initiative, christened the “Open Balkans”, has shown efficiency and usefulness even during the challenging times of the pandemic.

Although the Open Balkan Initiative has so far included only Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, it has been and will be open to all members of the Western Balkans. We take this opportunity and once again invite all our neighbors to come together to offer their citizens the benefits we offer to our citizens.

Often labelled as Europe’s “powder keg”, we as responsible leaders cannot let our region fall back into the nightmares of the past, while the EU is unable to do more for enlargement at this stage.
We have our divisions, we do not agree on some political issues, but we all agree that the economy and the four fundamental freedoms of the EU are the best way to give our region hope for a lasting peace.

The Open Balkan is not a consolation prize instead of EU membership, on the contrary it is a big step towards it. Just as the Coal and Steel Community preceded the inception of the European Union after World War II, the “Open Balkan” will be remembered as the moment that brought our nations closer to the European Union and towards full membership in the world’s largest trading block.
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