Panel of Regional Leaders: Strengthening the Vision of Western Balkans Integration into the EU

(Patria) - A panel on the Western Balkans, held as part of the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), featuring the leaders of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Serbia, brought forth several interesting ideas.

The general conclusion was that the panelists largely agreed with the statement by Milo Đukanović, President of Montenegro, that the Europeanization of the region has no alternative.

Đukanović emphasized that he is convinced that the most important thing is to strengthen the vision of the Western Balkans' integration into the European Union.

"I think we must choose the path of strengthening stability, dynamic economic and democratic development, which will lead us to catch up with the quality of life in the EU," Đukanović said.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, assessed that economic aspects are the priorities of the countries in the region.

"We have to work harder because there are significant opportunities. That is a great advantage, but we need help. The goals are the same, which is to improve competitiveness and improve the standard of living," he said.

Zaev added that work is being done on opening borders to minimize time spent at border crossings.

"It is good to have roads and to trust the institutions of our neighbors. Energy potentials are also important; we need to increase renewable sources," he emphasized.

Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, stated in her presentation that this region has a favorable business climate, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.

She highlighted the regional roaming agreement as a positive example, which stipulates that by 2021, the Western Balkans will be a roam-free region.

Brnabić also added that to fulfill the region's potential, it is necessary to work on constant political dialogue on all issues, especially the most difficult and complex ones.

"We cannot just be a stable and predictable region; I think it is more important for others to see us as such. It takes longer to truly become like that, for a third party to see us as stable," Brnabić said.

She added that infrastructural connectivity is also very important, expressing satisfaction that the construction of the highway from Sarajevo to Belgrade will begin in Serbia as early as June.

Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, emphasized that "we are in a phase where we agree on what needs to be done in the region, but at the same time, we realize that it is easier said than done."

"It is clear that if we want to work regionally, we need free trade in a single market, and the efforts made in this direction have taught us that it is easier said than done. Because it is a different reality when you realize daily that the biggest problems are in the details, in the small things," Rama said.