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Businessmen in North Macedonia say that the delay in infrastructure projects and the long waits at customs significantly reduce the competitiveness of Macedonian products in the countries of the Western Balkans.
For the businessmen of North Macedonia, it is of particular importance that the Open Balkans initiative parallels the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), so as not to overburden the administration, which is not as efficient as they say in favor of business. .
Drilon Iseni, director of the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce, says that for the business sector the primary option remains the option that offers free movement of capital, services and citizens.
“Any parallel agreement, which in some way will affect the weakening of the previous agreement, is not acceptable for us”, says Iseni.
He underlines that it remains important that the reliefs achieved by the states of the region are implemented in practice and not only promoted as such with pomposity and remain only on paper.
“Realistically, businesses do not need many big summits where beautiful words are spoken, but action must also be taken on the ground. And this, first of all, means good road infrastructure and efficient customs services that will accelerate the free movement of goods between the countries of the region and all this will result in a higher trade exchange, regardless of which country it’s about. Any supplementary agreement that defocuses this administration, which is really not that efficient, therefore does not go in favor of business”, Iseni assesses.
But what is the difference between CEFTA, which is an agreement for free trade and greater economic cooperation, and the Open Balkans initiative, which actually has the same objective?
The Director of the General Secretariat of CEFTA, Emir Xhikiq, says to Radio Evropa e Lirte that CEFTA in principle remains focused on harmonizing trade between the signatory countries of the agreement with EU standards within the framework of regional trade.
“What is important to emphasize, is that the basic difference between CEFTA and the Open Balkans, according to the things already highlighted, is that CEFTA is an inclusive process that on the one hand sometimes complicates activities, while on the other hand it leads to that all parties in the Western Balkans go faster towards European integration”.
“As far as the Open Balkans are concerned, at a certain point it will have to comply with the activities of CEFTA, provided that within the entire Berlin Process, or the common regional market, certain political issues that block the functioning of these two initiatives”, says Xhikiq.
On the other hand, Biljana Muratovska from the Association of Transporters ‘MakamTrans’, tells Radio Free Europe that the price of many goods depends on the price of transport which is determined by its speed.
Muratovska emphasizes that many problems appear in the customs system, which is old and with a slow dynamic adapts to the demands of the time, while the implementation of infrastructure projects is delayed for years.
“The price of many products depends on the speed of movement, I think of transportation from one place to a certain place. We do not have the speed of movement as we are limited”, says Muratovska, underlining as problematic the clear lack of definition regarding the distribution of rights and responsibilities among CEFTA members.
Meanwhile, Emir Xhikiq considers that the economy remains hostage to the political barriers between the countries of the region.
“Every policy has had an impact on the economy and the economy on politics, there is nothing unusual here. What needs to be said is that the economic potential that the member countries would have been able to use by participating in CEFTA is over 7 percent of the total gross production, GDP at the annual level. This shows that the parties should engage in overcoming political problems and really devote themselves to economic issues that will contribute to the well-being of companies and indirectly also of the citizens of the Western Balkans”.
“What really needs to be emphasized is that regional integration in this way as we see it, namely through the common regional market and European integrations, are two sides of the same coin. What you will do for integration in CEFTA, will also be written for integration in the EU and vice versa”, says Xhikiq./ Radio Free Europe
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