On Monday 14 October, the ‘Berlin Process’ was held in Berlin, a diplomatic initiative bringing together the leaders of the Western Balkans alongside the EU. This meeting, which marks the tenth anniversary of the initiative, is of particular importance at a time when the Union intends to speed up its enlargement process, spurred on by the current geopolitical situation.
Six countries from the Western Balkans were present on Monday (the heads of state and government of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) alongside nine European Union states and the United Kingdom.
At the summit, the prime ministers of the six Western Balkan countries signed the Declaration of Support to the Common Regional Market Action Plan 2025-2028 and the Agreement on Access to Higher Education and Admission to Higher Studies in the Western Balkans (see EUROPE 13362/17).
The establishment of a single market between the countries of the region, modelled on the European single market of the early 1990s, is intended as a link to faster and smoother integration within the EU.
The aim of this action plan for the common regional market is to consolidate and improve the competitiveness and economic cooperation of the six countries of the Western Balkans in order to bring them closer to European standards.
During his address to the Summit, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, spoke of the importance of “regional cooperation”, announcing that from 1 January 2025, Kosovo will allow citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina to enter its territory without the need for a visa.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also welcomed the agreement reached between Kosovo and Serbia on the lifting of export restrictions - a concrete step towards the normalisation of relations between the two countries, for which the EU has been calling for many years (see EUROPE 13473/10).
The German leader, Olaf Scholz, pointed out that the twenty long years since the Thessaloniki Declaration in 2003 had seen very little notable progress, and that it was “high time that these words were followed by concrete actions”.
“We have learned the lessons of the 2004 enlargement”, declared Ursula von der Leyen, issuing a reminder of the “non-negotiable” parameters of EU membership: “respect for the rule of law and alignment with the Union’s external security policy”.
On Friday 11 October, the EU Member States approved the reform programmes of five countries in the region - with the exception of Bosnia-Herzegovina - paving the way for the first payments under the Growth Plan for the Balkans.
On Tuesday 15 October, the Intergovernmental Conference with Albania will be held in Luxembourg, to mark the opening of the first chapter of negotiations for the country’s accession to the EU. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)