BELGRADE, Nov. 4 – Leaders of Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia said at a summit in the Serbian capital Thursday that the Open Balkan Initiative would move forward steadily over the next two years, leading to freer movement of people and goods among the three countries.
They also urged the three Western Balkan states that have not joined the initiative — Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina — to become members of the initiative.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Serb President Aleksandar Vucic also said relations between Kosovo and Serbia would be resolved in EU-mediated talks, but that this should not be an obstacle to Kosovo’s inclusion in the Open Balkan Initiative.
North Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Dimitrov attended the summit to represent his country after Prime Minister Zoran Zaev resigned earlier in the week following his party’s local elections loss.
The three leaders agreed to set up an agreement implementation council and that the next meeting is to be held in Tirana after Christmas, where the signing of the agreement on work permits in the three member countries of the initiative is expected.
In October 2019, Rama, Vucic and Zaev launched the initiative then labeled as the “Balkan mini-Schengen,” rebranding it as “Open Balkans” at a meeting in Skopje in June 2021.
The ultimate goal of the initiative is to establish free movement of people, goods and services among the member countries — the same way things work inside the European Union.
However, the initiative has faced resistance and criticism, with some critics likening Open Balkans to the former Yugoslavia, which would provide an unfair advantage to Serbia, which is by far the largest economy in the initiative.
Moreover, Serbia refuses to accept Kosovo’s independence and there have been increasing tensions between the two countries in recent months. Also, increasing ethnic tensions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro have left both countries leery of Serb influence.
The Kosovo government also says the initiative cannot replace the European integration processes, where it says the focus should be instead.
The Serbian president said the initiative is open to all and the doors are open to Prishtina, Podgorica and Sarajevo.
“We will resolve our relations with Prishtina through dialogue, as we have different positions, but the Open Balkans is something else,” Vucic said. “Anyone who is interested is welcome.”
Albania’s prime minister echoed that sentiment.
“The issue of disagreement has its own dialogue, it has its own way. But one thing you should know, if all six countries participate, then for both Kosovo and Bosnia the atmosphere will be much better to address other issues as well,” Prime Minister Rama said.
Rama added: “Neither Albania, nor Serbia, nor North Macedonia, which have decided to move faster, will wait for everyone else to be convinced. I have heard the reasons why others are skeptical, or rejecting, of the Open Balkans. I have heard the reasons of Montenegro, I have heard the reasons of Bosnia, I have listened very carefully to the reasons of Kosovo, and I am very sorry, but I consider them reasons of being unreasonable.”
Meanwhile, the Open Balkan Initiative appears to be gaining the support of Western diplomats. In a recent hearing in the U.S. Congress, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Southern and Central Europe Gabriel Escobar said that the United States supports all initiatives that bring countries closer economically.
“The leaders of the three countries [Albania, Serbia and Northern Macedonia] that have launched the Open Balkan initiative have assured us that it is open to all six countries of the Western Balkans, and we trust them. In fact, there can be no success without the other three countries,” he said.
He added that this initiative is similar to what under the Berlin Process is known as the common regional market, and such a market would be very attractive to American companies.
The three member states of the initiative, as well as the other three that have rejected it so far, hope to join the European Union but are at different stages of the process.
Montenegro and Serbia have already opened membership negotiations, while Albania and North Macedonia are awaiting their opening, but are currently hostage to disagreements between North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Kosovo is the laggard in the integration process and the only country in the region whose citizens cannot travel without visas in the Schengen area.
