European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the Berlin Process guarantees a future in which all the countries of the Western Balkans will be part of the European Union, BGNES reports.
The tenth meeting in the format of the leaders of the Western Balkan countries and the partner countries of the initiative, as well as representatives of international financial institutions and regional organizations, is taking place in Berlin today.
"The meeting is an occasion to look back on a decade of progress with our partners in the Western Balkans. The Berlin Process has always been the advocate, architect and pillar of the strong bond between us. Of course, much has changed in ten years. Times of conflict, war and turmoil have brought about a new awareness within the European Union. The realization that a bigger Union is also a stronger Union. And that it is our responsibility to bring aspiring members closer to us. That is why we are extending to the Western Balkans the same solidarity measures that we have taken within our Union. The energy crisis is a case in point. We have helped households in the Western Balkans to cope with high energy costs through our EUR 1 billion energy support package. We are now building energy infrastructure to make the Western Balkans more energy independent, with an EUR 30 billion investment plan. Another example is our cooperation in civil protection. We have all fought side by side with the forest fires of this summer and the recent floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And all this practical cooperation goes hand in hand with progress on the European path," said Von der Leyen after talks with Western Balkan leaders.
The Commission president stressed that enlargement is high on the bloc's agenda.
"We are looking for a future in which all six Western Balkan partners will be part of our European Union. To achieve this, we need to draw on the lessons of the 2004 enlargement. The first precondition is alignment with our core European values: respect for democracy and the rule of law. The second prerequisite is early economic integration. That is why the Berlin Process plays a key role. It has always been the driving force of regional economic integration. The Berlin Process has become the engine of the common regional market of the six Western Balkan countries. It is essential that this common regional market functions smoothly, because it allows businesses from the Western Balkans to trade, innovate and create good jobs. And because it brings the region closer to us and to its economies, to our single market," said Von der Leyen.
She welcomed the agreement reached last week at CEFTA level and in particular the lifting of restrictions on exports from Serbia to Kosovo.
"The better the common regional market functions, the better the economies of the Western Balkans can be integrated - step by step - into our European single market. We need a bridge between the common regional market and the single European market. And that bridge is our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans – a EUR 6 billion investment. It is no coincidence that I chose to present the Growth Plan at last year's Berlin Process Summit in Tirana. The reason is simple: the Growth Plan and the Berlin Process are interlinked. With the Growth Plan, we are opening the door to certain sectors of the single market. In order to benefit from this opening, the Western Balkans must adopt the relevant reforms to have a level playing field. And these reforms are in turn supported by EU investment in each country. The progress is tangible. We have asked our partners to develop their own reform agenda within the Growth Plan. Today I am pleased to announce that five of the six reform programs will be adopted this week. This means that Growth Plan payments can start to flow before the end of the year. This would never have been possible without the Berlin Process. So, the hard work has been successful. The road is windy, but we are moving forward."
The Berlin Process was established in 2014 as a platform to strengthen cooperation between the Western Balkan countries and the host countries of the Berlin Process as well as the EU. The Forum aims to help countries in the region to achieve European standards and bring concrete benefits to citizens in the region. The main idea of the initiative is to support the process of European integration of the Western Balkan countries, with the activities of the process focused on three main areas: economy and connectivity; reconciliation and good neighborly relations; security.
Participants in the process are the countries of the Western Balkans - Albania, Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Kosovo, as well as the countries - Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, the UK, Poland, Greece and Bulgaria. | BGNES
