Western Balkan Governments Need to Take Responsibility for Implementing the Common Regional Market

(Patria) - Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council at the ministerial conference within the Berlin Process: We are proud that together with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, regional organizations, international financial institutions, and other partners, we have carried the heavy burden of preparing the Action Plan for a Common Regional Market.  

Tomorrow, six Western Balkan leaders will confirm a new action plan for our region, for a common regional market. The common regional market is not a new idea. It is an excellent plan based on the four freedoms, just like the European Union's single market, and supported by digital, innovation, industrial, and investment segments. We are proud that we have carried the heavy burden of this process together with the European Commission's Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, regional organizations, international financial institutions, and other partners. However, governments will need to take on the burden of responsibility for implementing this plan,” said the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, at the meeting of foreign ministers held today as part of the Berlin Process.

The Western Balkans is not a perfect region. Unemployment, the economic situation, the outflow of skilled labor, young people leaving our economies – this is the discouraging reality of the Western Balkans. Twenty years ago, many people seeking refuge from wars were returning home. Today, 71 percent of young people from the Western Balkans are considering going abroad for work, while 43 percent are willing to move in search of lost hope. Regional growth is projected to fall to -5.1 percent. The GDP drop in the second quarter of this year is enormous, in some cases up to -20 percent, mainly due to the collapse in the tourism sector.

“It is not easy to progress in such circumstances, and therefore we should not complicate things further, but rather give an opportunity for the proposals that the six Western Balkan economies have helped to define to be realized. Policies focused on borders and disputes will not help the region become richer. I truly hope that the common regional market will be supported and implemented to ensure deeper economic integration of the region. If this happens, we will all benefit,” concluded Bregu.

The ministerial meeting, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, brought together foreign ministers of the Berlin Process, representatives of the European Union, and intergovernmental organizations. The Berlin Process is an initiative aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and assisting the integration of the region's six economies into the European Union. The initiative was launched by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 28, 2014. This year, Bulgaria and North Macedonia are co-chairing the Berlin Process. 

The common regional market builds on the results of the Multi-annual Action Plan for Regional Economic Area, adopted three years ago in Trieste, when the leaders of the six Western Balkan economies agreed to give the region an opportunity to build its own economic space by enabling the free flow of goods, services, capital, and highly skilled labor, thereby making the region more attractive and conducive to investment.

The path towards this has been paved by the results achieved within the Regional Economic Area. We are now paying up to 96 percent less for roaming charges across the Western Balkans, while from July 2021, roaming costs will be abolished. Trade in goods has increased by 25 percent, while foreign direct investment has seen an increase of 35 percent since 2016. More information is available at this link.

The summit in Sofia, which will bring together the prime ministers of the Berlin Process and where the Action Plan for a Common Regional Market, the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, and the Conclusions of the Ministerial Meeting on Roma Integration are to be confirmed, will be held tomorrow. The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu, will speak at the opening of the official part of the meeting, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi.