U.S. State Department for Open Balkans: Essential for region progress

The United States strongly supports the continuation of efforts in the Western Balkans to deepen and strengthen sweeping regional integration, based on EU rules and standards, a spokesman for the American State Department says in a statement for Voice of America.

Asked by the US's Albanian Voice Service about the position of the United States towards the Open Balkans initiative, embraced by Albania, Serbia and Northern Macedonia, but not by other countries in the region, the spokesman stresses through the US statement calling on leaders in the region “to try to find opportunities to reduce trade barriers, boost economic competitiveness and build integrated, dynamic economies in service of their citizens<1>.

The statement defines the key <x0 sectorial for attracting investment and economic growth” as creating a Common Regional Market such as guaranteeing the free movement of people, goods and services.

The Western Balkans is a region with enormous untapped potential, which also appears in the vision and efforts of its peoples to create a prosperous and successful region, fully integrated into the European Union”, says a State Department spokesman for the Voice of America.