During a summit in Trieste, Italy, the six Western Balkans countries (Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia) agreed on an action plan to develop a regional economic area covering trade, investment, mobility and the digital economy.
The implementation of this common area will be supported financially by the EU with up to €7 million. The funding will be used to improve the investment environment and to establish smart specialisation strategies. It will also be used for the Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum, which will help transform the regional economic area into "concrete opportunities for companies across the region", the Commission states in a press release.
Italy, which chaired the summit, said in a statement that this area would be based on the rules and principles of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and of the EU, which "will enable unobstructed flow of goods, services, capital and highly skilled labour". The Balkans constitute a market of 20 million consumers. "Objectives to be reached over the next years also include development of digital markets, smart growth, mobility of skilled workers and mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the region", the Commission adds.
At the summit, the Commission also announced further EU financial support of €48 million for the Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (EDIF), which is expected to leverage some €250 million for companies in the region.
Italy gave assurances that this work is neither an alternative nor a parallel process of European integration. It will strengthen the ability of the Western Balkans' economies to fulfil the economic criteria of EU accession and to implement the EU acquis at regional level before joining the EU. The Western Balkans fear, however, that this area might replace full and complete EU membership. The statement also says that the Western Balkans' process, as part of which the summit in Trieste was held, and the accession negotiations of these countries are of a complementary nature.
Setting up a European Transport Community
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn also signed, along with European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, a treaty setting up a European Transport Community with five Western Balkans countries. Bosnia-Herzegovina has not yet signed this treaty, but the parties to the text called on the Bosnian authorities to do their utmost as swiftly as possible.
Through the use of financial support granted to the Western Balkans, this treaty is particularly aimed at increasing the efficiency of transport and at improving the connectivity of infrastructure. The EU and its partners thus hope to attract investors and to generate economic externalities advantageous to the region. The text also has the objective of bringing the legislation of the Western Balkans states closer to that of the EU, with a view to supporting the Western Balkans states' future EU membership.
Contact between people was also highlighted, especially contact between young people and civil servants.
Strengthening the fight against terrorism and corruption
The Balkans and EU member states will also work more together on fighting the return of foreign fighters from the Middle East. This will happen by promoting the sharing of information with Interpol and Europol, a proactive commitment with the European counter-terrorism centre and joint centres for police cooperation, implementation of the convention for police cooperation for south-eastern Europe, and greater cooperation in terms of border management in order to fight the return of foreign fighters. The parties also want to strengthen their cooperation on the fight against radicalisation and violent extremism.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that France has also proposed an initiative allowing better control of ammunition and light weapons in the region. "We proposed being able to coordinate this effort in terms of ammunition storage, better controls on light weapons, which is a real scourge in the region, and I think this is progress in terms of security", he said.
At a workshop which took place on the sidelines of the summit and which was chaired by the Italian national anti-corruption authority (ENAC), the EU and the Balkans worked on the fight against corruption, transparency, public procurement, disclosure and conflicts of interests. In an appendix to the statement published after the summit, the parties confirmed their resolve to step up the prevention of, and fight against, corruption and to improve the rule of law and the business environment.
In 2018, the summit is due to be held in the UK.
The action plan on the regional economic area can be consulted at: http://www.esteri.it/mae/resource/doc/2017/07/map_regional_economic_area_06_july_2017_clean_version.pdf. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Lucas Tripoteau, with Solenn Paulic)