Várhelyi participated in the Euro-Balkan Ministerial of Ministers of Economy from the EU and the region, which takes place within the Berlin Process, with the participation of over 20 high-level delegations.

“In the current geopolitical context, EU enlargement with the Western Balkans is more than ever an investment for peace, security and prosperity in our continent. It is an investment for our common future, for which this commission has worked hard since the beginning of its mandate, presenting a new methodology for the expansion, approval and implementation of a plan for investments in the economy of the region”, said the commissioner.

He emphasized that the economic investment plan, worth 30 billion Euros, is the backbone of the connectivity and integration plan.

The commissioner said that implementation of the plan is progressing rapidly.

“So far, we have approved 3 billion Euros in grants that will mobilize 15.9 billion Euros for investments. This includes 54 important projects in transport, energy, environment, digitization, human capital and competition in the private sector”, emphasized Várhelyi.

The commissioner also said that there will be other projects in December, as well as a new plan for economic growth in the Western Balkan.

According to him, this plan will speed up the pace of social economic convergence of the region with the EU and in this way will speed up preparations for EU membership.

“In particular, we want to speed up the economic integration with the region and the EU common market”, he said./p.s./

During the joint conference with Prime Minister Edi Rama after the summit of the Western Balkans leaders held at the Palace of Brigades in Tirana, Varhelyi stressed that, “This month, this year can really be the month and year of the Western Balkans.”

He said: “I am particularly pleased to see that this may be the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and that we will probably begin to return to our previous ways of working and holding such important meetings of the leaders of the Western Balkans in physical form and to be able to push forward our common agenda in the Western Balkans”.

Further on, Commissioner Várhelyi, added that, “We are already seeing the first results that are changing the lives of citizens with the launch of the agreement without roaming tariffs throughout the Western Balkans.”

“This is really a great achievement and there will still be great things, such as in the future citizens can move with ID cards, there will be recognition of diplomas, revocation of work permits. For all these things together, cooperation in the Western Balkans will offer a lot to the citizens, including online commerce or what is known as E-commerce,” he added.

The Commissioner also touched on the EU plan for investments in our region, emphasizing that, “We are ready to reconfirm our commitment that we have put on the table with the economic and investment plan, a plan that we have shown since autumn that mobilizes 1/3 of the region’s GDP, i.e. almost 30 billion Euros in the form of investments that will come to the region”.

“But, this plan will not work if the region itself does not function as a whole, if we do not have a regional market. It makes no sense to build highways, in case all the big vehicles will stop at different border points, let us say, every 100 km. It does not make sense to work more on these railways in case the trains would encounter difficulties, or new trade routes in case there would have to be 6 different types of certificates for the goods, or different taxes for these types of goods,” he added.

According to him, this economic plan and investment plan will give its results in case this region itself works for this regional market, and this is the environment in which this regional market will function.

Further on, Commissioner Várhelyi stressed that, “For my part, the news I brought here today for you is that we already have an agreement in the European Union to fund this plan./p.s./