The leaders of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia visited an international wine fair in Italy on Sunday, where they discussed additional steps to advance the so-called Open Balkans initiative and urged other countries from the region to join.
The somewhat controversial initiative, previously called “Mini-Schengen” in reference to the EU’s passport-free area, provides for the free movement of people and goods across member countries.
However, only three of the six Western Balkan countries have adopted it, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro have so far refused to join.
Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dmitar Kovačevski, speaking after visiting the Vinitaly 2023 wine fair in Verona together with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, said the Open Balkan “gives results “.
Inviting the three other countries to join us, he added: “This joint participation in the show proves that it is not a political initiative but an economic initiative. This is an authentic initiative based on goodwill and good neighborly relations.
Speaking more concretely, Serbian Vučić said that the three countries behind the initiative should soon finalize the process to facilitate work permits.
“I expect this process to secure work permits to be completed soon, and this should be the basis of our economic cooperation.”
The three leaders, Vučić said, also discussed “a number of important issues so that we can be ready before the start of the summer season.”
“We talked about food safety, harmonization of electronic cards and acceptance of new ID cards, and all three of us agreed that we can make progress in the coming months.”
(Zoran Radosavljević | EURACTIV.com)