Escobar: Open Balkans won't work without the involvement of six states

If in “Balkan Open” (Open Balkans) does not include all six Western Balkan states, then it will not work, American envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar said on Wednesday 24 November.

During an online address he had at the conference for the “Open Balkans”, which was held in Serbia's Parliament, Escobar said regional initiatives should be equal open to all states.

The initiative for co-operation “Open Balkans” includes Serbia, Albania and Northern Macedonia and envisions freedom of movement of goods, capital, services and people among these three states.

Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro are not part of the “Open Balkans”.

Escobar warned that among the challenges of the Open “Balkan” remain border control after their opening, reducing corruption and reducing state control in the economy.

“Crahas this, it is important that these three states which initiated the Open Balkans remain open and have a close conversation with three other partners who remain skeptical”, Escobar added.

As he stressed, equality should exist in the regional initiative for all citizens and projects, and there should be no discrimination on the basis of ethnic affiliation.

The US envoy for the Western Balkans added that the US is ready to help regional initiatives if they do not prevent European integration.

We are willing to help you on this road to achieve international standards, to become partners with Europe, to ensure that this region will become one of the most important economies in Europe”, Escobar said.

It is time to free up the economic potential of the Western Balkan states and strengthen their European future, American Ambassador to Belgrade Anthonyfrey stressed during his speech.

“Support the Open Balkans plan, inclusive in order to ensure free circulation of goods, people, capital and services”, he stressed.

Rama: “Open Balkans” can help Serbia, Kosovo

Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, during his online address, has said it is not up to members of the initiative to convince anyone that the Open Balkans is really open.

He stressed that neither is the assumption that the initiative is open to other members.

According to Rama, the Open Balkans are compatible with the Berlin Process, which the outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel founded for Western Balkan states to become EU members.

However, Rama voiced dissatisfaction with the fact that the European Union is procrastinating enlargement for the Western Balkans. Albania and Northern Macedonia now await a date from Brussels for starting EU membership negotiations.

“Wait dates, then fail to realise... We will not be in the European Union next year, so we in the region should work together” said the Albanian prime minister.

According to Rama's assessments, the Open Balkans can help solve the problem between Serbia and Kosovo, because problems can only be addressed if all are together.

Albania's prime minister said he would be very happy when both partners -- the EU and the US -- declared the Open Balkans to be a good initiative.

Brnabyq: BPV growth if everything goes according to plan

As the Serbian prime minister noted. Anna Brnabyq, the biggest benefit of the Open Balkans is the much more stable and secure region.

“We are a relatively small region, any instability in any state will negatively affect us all” said Brnabiq.

Economic benefit, according to Brnabiqi, is also important because with the opening of borders and the creation of the common market comes an increase in investments from abroad.

According to her, predictions are that the open Balkan member states, if they implement the measures aimed at, within two to three years will have gross domestic production growth per cent.

“for five to seven years, if all that we plan is implemented, and if any other state joins us, we may have BPV growth of up to 7 percent” the Serbian prime minister said.

Dimitrov: In the future we can't stay away

“We were long gone and thus cannot happen in the future, so as not to end up in the deadlock of the European Union”, Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs of Northern Macedonia Nikola Dimitrov declared during his online address at the conference for Open Balkans.

We need to send a clear message that as a region we are stable and we are finding solutions, not problems, to be directed towards the future and not to be prisoners of the past. Open Balkan is the main step in this direction” praised Dimitrov.

According to him, states within the initiative should create the common market, given the freedom of movement of people, goods and capital, investments that will help transform green.

This will help us on the road to the EU. Most European Commission recommendations refer to these. When we are close, this brings development, stability, prosperity and empowerment”, Dimitrov stressed.

He cited that with the current growth rate, countries in the region could reach the average rate of EU development for six decades, while World Bank data from 2016 indicates that 26 million hours a day were spent waiting within the region's borders.

Company owners say they lack the workforce and that this reduces economic development. It is important for all to remove barriers, which will improve the region's mirror before foreign investors. Therefore regional co-operation is not an alternative for Euro-integration, but is in line with those”, Dimitrov said.

He stressed that governments should keep young people at home because human capital loses at their departure.

They leave because they want European ways of life. If we want to stay, we need to get this home from”, Dimitrov said.

What is the Open Balkans?

The initiative for regional co-operation “Open Macedonia” -- which includes Serbia, Northern Macedonia and Albania -- has been taken by Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq, the prime minister currently in Northern Macedonia's resignation, Zoran Zaev and Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama, in October 2019.

The initiative was originally called “Minnie Schengen” and it envisions free movement of capital, goods, services and people among the three countries.

In July of this year, at the Forum for Regional Economic Co-operation in Skopje, the initiative has taken the new name, “Open Balkans”.