Energy and food security top agenda at Open Balkan summit in Belgrade

TIRANA, Sept. 2, 2022 – Albania, Macedonia and Serbia — whose leaders met in Belgrade on Friday as part of the Open Balkans initiative — say they will seek each-others’ help to deal with difficult winter ahead in terms of energy and food security related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The three countries agreed to form a joint commission to help each other face the threats of energy and food shortages. The summit also achieved agreements on mining, audio-visual rights and a joint operational plan on civil emergencies. 

In addition to the three members, the Belgrade summit also had observers from Montenegro and Bosnia Herzegovina. The foregn ministers of Turkey and Hungary also attended. 

Aim is peace and stability, leaders say

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the success of the Open Balkan initiative will be seen in how peace and stability in the region will be strengthened.

“The Open Balkan initiative brings hope to this part of the world which has always been fraught with misunderstandings and conflicts,” Vucic said. 

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, said Vucic was working for “peace” as he referenced the beginning of the implementation of the agreement on free movement between Kosovo and Serbia, which since Thursday recognize each other’s ID documents.

“He [Vucic] gave a very clear sign to everyone that the first choice is peace and finding solutions for people,” Rama said, adding it would have been even easier were Kosovo to accept being part of the OBI.

Kosovo, critics prefer EU integration processes instead

Kosovo refuses to join the OBI because Serbia refuses to recognize its independence, adding it wants to be part of initiatives that are part of the EU integration process instead. 

Furthermore, critics of the Open Balkan initiative, argue that because Serbia is economically and demographically the largest country it will end up dominating the region, while getting a good deal on free trade and influence. 

Rama says EU should help too

Albanian Prime Minister Rama said the three EU aspirants would also request EU help if needed. 

“The best scenario for Albania would be half a billion euros [in additional costs] for… uninterrupted electricity supplies,” Rama said, adding the EU should not repeat “the shameful behavior of the pandemic when the countries of the Western Balkans had to turn to China, Russia and Turkey”.

The EU allocated 70 million euros for pandemic measures and vaccines for the six countries of the Western Balkans, but Rama was referring to the fact that non-EU countries were able to respond faster in helping the region’s populations at the height of the pandemic. 

Albania opposition unhappy with Rama and OBI

Back in Albania, opposition representatives were unhappy with Rama’s repeated verbal attacks on the EU. 

Rama “spoke irrately about the EU from Belgrade today, asking for more money for the energy crisis. He speaks like a parent who wasted all the family’s money and then speaks angrily at his best friend, who saves, on why no more money is given to waste,” Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku wrote on Twitter. “The EU has always been there when Albania was in need, but a better question is what is the government doing to address the crisis? All countries have offered assistance packages. But there are none in Albania.”

The Democratic Party has long declared its opposition to the initiative, with its leader, Sali Berisha, calling it “anti-Albanian” this week.

“Vucic is using Open Balkan in every aspect. He is using it to go against the EU’s Berlin Process, in order to place Serbia’s hegemony in the Balkans and increase Russian influence,” Berisha said in a press conference in Tirana. “He is also using it to destroy production in Albania and North Macedonia with unclear rules about free trade.”

The three countries have different energy profiles

While the three states have apparently agreed to share excess energy reserves, the three countries have different energy profiles. 

Serbia is predominantly subject to Russian gas imports, for heat, but produces two thirds of its electricity via old coal-powered power plants.

North Macedonia depends on petroleum derivatives and hydroelectric power and is likewise reliant upon imported power. 

Albania on the other hand has most of its power generation through hydropower. It also imports energy on the international market, which is currently several times more expensive than last year.

Previously known as Mini-Shengen, the Open Balkan regional initiative formally started working in 2019 when Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia agreed to create an economic zone of 12 million people with the ultimate aim of open borders for people and trade.