Balkan Economy Pushes Youth Towards the EU

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - "The prospect of potential EU membership has been the driving force behind all Western Balkan economies throughout these years. According to Balkan Barometer data, support among Western Balkan citizens for EU membership is constantly growing. Compared to 2016, when 39 percent of the region's citizens supported membership, now 62 percent support it. We don't know their motives, but we see people from the region, one by one, joining the European Union, and it's possible they see membership and the EU as an opportunity to leave their economies. When asked if they would like to leave their economies and live and work abroad, 71 percent of young people answered yes. This is an alarm signal for Western Balkan leaders, but also for all of us involved in regional cooperation," said the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, at the beginning of her address at the Prespa Forum for Dialogue, held today in Ohrid.

"At the same time, support for regional cooperation is high and growing. 77 percent of our citizens support regional cooperation and see it as a mechanism for improving the political and economic situation in their economies. 20 years ago, no one would have talked about trade, technological development, startup companies, or digital agendas, smart cities, and investment in human potential. Today, the region has embraced the building of a common regional market. Its approval last year in Sofia represented a huge success for the region, and I hope it will not remain just another commitment taken on paper."

The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council participated in a high-level plenary session titled "Re-establishing EU and US Synergy towards the Western Balkans" along with the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, the Prime Minister of Kosovo*, Albin Kurti, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zoran Tegeltija, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Zbigniew Rau, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria, Alexander Schallenberg. The panel rapporteur was Erwan Fouere, and the moderator was Alexandra Voudouri.