On Thursday 16 March, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn underlined the benefits that the Balkans countries could draw from creating a regional common market.
Saying that the meeting between the prime ministers of the six Western Balkan countries (Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia) organised in Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) had highlighted economic development, Hahn added that "there was the idea of certain prime ministers to work on (...) a common market". "This means removing certain barriers, authorising the free movement of goods and services, and the mutual recognition of professional diplomas", he said at a press conference after the meeting.
Hahn added that this common market would be an important contribution to, and preparation for, greater integration within the EU, with the six countries potentially one day becoming members of the EU. "Our hope is to remove barriers and create a single space for economic development. This will also specify a longer-term objective aiming to integrate the common market of the Western Balkans with the EU's single market", he added in a speech to the six prime ministers at the start of the meeting. Hahn said he would like the common market to have an important digital component. In his view, this could enable over 80,000 jobs to be created in the region by 2025.
He stated that he intended to use the summit in Trieste (Italy) on 12 July, "as a springboard for relaunching regional economic integration at a new level". "It will especially be about formulating clear political objectives for the Western Balkan countries over the coming years", he said in his speech. "For this to work, we will need very strong political commitment", Hahn stated.
The Western Balkans countries have been part of the Central European free trade area since 2007. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)