DW: Remote Kosovo- Albania for Balkan Open Idea

Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama, and some of the political leaders in Kosovo, both of the ruling and opposition parties, are continuing to clash in distance about the idea of an open Balkans, or what the Balkan Open is already known as.

In a long Facebook post, Albanian Prime Minister Rama responded to many commentators from Kosovo who accused him of saying “his proximity to Vucicin”, among other things, wrote about Kosovo's refusal to be part of the “Balkan Open” initiative, which until several weeks ago was known as the Balkan Mini-Shengen.

Rama defends Balkan Open idea

Rama wrote that this rhetoric does not serve Kosovo and its diplomacy.

The Open European “Balkan is not only the way of the future for the prosperity of the Albanian nation, as a European nation whose affiliation is in United Europe, but there is also a new and greater possibility, on the road to the recognition of Kosovo by Serbia; as for one of many examples of the greater benefit of the Open Balkans, who doesn't want to understand why the Open Balkans finally remove the border between Albania and Kosovo, let me tell me why they haven't taken it down to this day, those who have promised it with rage, and why I can't remove the open Balkans without any space from those who eat the <1nd> of their own strategic allies without Kosovo's full support, the Balkan Prime Minister Ramaska.

And for Western support for the Balkan Open, Rama also refers to the German government, openly saying “the German government supports this initiative”. Rama responds to critics, that “I am not a traitor, but I do not give up the Open Balkans.

Kosovo rejection

Regional co-operation wants all sides, but the Balkan Open process Kosovo opposes it. The initiative for “Open Balkan”, so far only supports Albania, Serbia and Northern Macedonia. Kosovo Foreign Minister Donika Grovalla refused to join this initiative, calling Kosovo's road to the EU aberration. “As the Republic of Kosovo, the initiative of Novi Sad, meanwhile of Mini-Shengen, and now the open Balkans, is considered dangerous because the impression is that we have alternative to our common road as a region, towards the EU and to convey this message, we consider it more dangerous than the delays that may occur in the meantime, during our process of integration”, Kosovo Foreign Affairs Minister Donika Gervala has said.

Even the chairman of the ruling party's Parliamentary Group, Vetevendosje Movement, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, said that “all parties in Kosovo have expressed their objections to the Open Balkans Initiative (Open Balkan), as according to her, this initiative is <x1-idrectable” to the fact that Serbia is empty of this initiative. “For us, absolutely it has been a process that has not been supported from the start, and we have considered it a process, the first parallel and the second harmful at the moment when Serbia becomes the empty of an initiative, such as the case of Mini-Sengen and (now) BalkansOpen <844>, Mimoza Kusari-Lila said after a meeting of the Kosovo Assembly Headship.

How might misunderstandings be avoided?

Remote clashes between Kosovo and Albanian politics have turned into debate among political analysts. Blerim Burjani, political analyst told the DW that the <x0-understandings between Kosovo and Albania can be avoided if more co-operated in the economic field”.

“Balkan Open is the idea Kosovo- Albania talks about priorities and the shortcomings of such a project in order to avoid mutual misunderstandings. Edi Rama has advanced in this idea outside Kosovo's commitment to first addressing topics of this nature that are not new and unknown to Kosovo, which was once mentioned as “Balcania”. Misunderstandings between Kosovo and Albania can be avoided by closely and sincerely co-operating in the economic field, and which has long lacked this sincerity between the two states of”, Burjani says.

According to analyst Burjani, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, sees the Balkan Open initiative as a project for economic rather than political gain.

“Currently Prime Minister Rama, the Balkan Open initiative is conversant by the economic and tourist aspect, which in fact seems more tourist than the economic interest of Albania. His poor report with Kosovo politics seems to be more personal than inter-Albanian, as Albanians and their interests are broader interests than other interests. The Balkan Open at the moment seems more unknown in the political sense, as Pristina thinks, while official Tirana thinks of economic interest and advancing economic freedoms”, Burjani says.

Kosovo has promised that it would join, Mini-Shengen in the Washington Agreement, signed on September 4th 2020 in the White House by former Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, this agreement, which in two separate documents was signed in the presence of former President Donald Trump.

In the Kosovo Assembly on 6 August, a resolution was not adopted urging the Kosovo government to implement the Washington Agreement. During the vote on this resolution, which under the laws in Kosovo are not binding but expresses political will, the deputies of the ruling Vetevendosje Movement abstained.

The idea of Mini-Shengen was presented in Novi Sad of Serbia on October 10th 2019 by leaders of Serbia, Northern Macedonia and Albania. On 29 July 2021, at an economic forum held in Skopje, this initiative was changed to Balkan Open and Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, North Macedonia's Zoran Zaev and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, called on all states of the region to join this initiative. /dw/