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“The European Union unconditionally supports the Open Balkans.” The statement was made by Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi during a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, in the framework of the ‘Open Balkans’ initiative, where five agreements are expected to be signed.
“You can include me as a supporter of the Balkans. We (EU) think that according to EU rules and values, any regional cooperation is welcome but also for the benefit of both parties, for the benefit of the Balkans and the European Union.“, Said the Commissioner.
Varhelyi invited three other Western Balkan countries to join the initiative, listing the reasons for benefiting from it.
“Let me take the opportunity to invite the other three partners to return to this cooperation because it is not only good for the business, it is good for the customers, it offers an increase in employment, and it can also change the realities on the ground. If there is one thing I quote to you, to quote you Mr. Rama, is that only through the concrete creation of a common regional market, the Balkans can add 1/3 of the existing GDP“, He added.
The Commissioner stressed the importance of this initiative moving forward, at a time when other initiatives are not going well.
“To be honest, I have always been very positive about this proposal. First it was called minishengen, then we tried within the Berlin process and created the common regional market but unfortunately with some choices in the region, this initiative was put aside. This is a conclusion I have drawn from the beginning, for you to continue to promote this initiative because the region wants to be a whole, in terms of economy, society and the region wants to be together as we are in the European Union. You understood the importance of regional integration and it is able to change the lives of your citizens. “This is the best message the region can send, which is not only ready for regional cooperation, but is doing it.”, said Varlehyi.
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