Albanian, Macedonian PMs hint EU needs to do more for the region

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama embarked on his tour of Western Balkan countries on Thursday, stopping off in North Macedonia, where he and his Macedonian counterpart both dropped hints that the EU needs to do more for the region.

Last weekend, Rama said that the Open Balkan initiative had fulfilled its mission, and it is time to focus on the Berlin Process and EU membership. He announced that the next Berlin Summit would be held in Tirana in October, and that he would visit Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia to meet with the respective leaders and discuss the process.

In a press conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Dimita Kovacevski, he defended the Open Balkan initiative, which had been subject to mixed reviews in the region and further afield.

“I would do the Open Balkans 1,000 times if I could go back a thousand times. The Open Balkans is not an exclusive initiative; it is one of the 72 initiatives in this region. What bad has come from the Open Balkans region besides the good?! Take a look at the trade figures between countries. The Open Balkans has made the Berlin Process benefit from the Open Balkans impetus. I don’t understand how there are still doubts when the facts speak clearly”, said Rama.

The Open Balkan format involves Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia, with Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina refusing to participate and Montenegro hesitating for now. It aims to facilitate free movement, trade, and ties between regional countries through a series of agreements, with leaders meeting periodically to sign agreements.

It has, however, been controversial, with Kosovo condemning the involvement of Serbia and fears being raised that it could harm the Berlin process, mainly as it was established at a time when EU enlargement was particularly stagnant.

Kovacevski said they deserve praise for the initiative as it delivered concrete results in a short time that citizens welcomed, but that the Berlin process is also important.

“In addition to the political messages coming from this process, we as a region need quick, concrete, necessary benefits that will increase the economic potential of the region and reduce the gap between candidate countries for EU membership and EU member countries, especially in the region of South-Eastern Europe,” Kovacevski said.

Rama added that his meeting with Skopje also aimed to discuss the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, where Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro- all members- must present a united voice of the region.

“Today, it is clear that the EU needs us as much as we need the EU. The next topic is that of the NATO Summit, there is no doubt that we are in line with the NATO leadership, but Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia are three NATO countries in an unstable region, and we must agree to present the voice of a region”, said Rama.

He added it has become clear the EU is no longer meeting the region’s needs regarding financial support. “This is the reason that we started to push in this direction by proactively cooperating with each other as countries and in particular with North Macedonia, to achieve this common goal”.

(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)