Gajic: The Open Balkan Initiative is impossible to abolish, it can only be improved

Economist Mihailo Gajic believes that the Open Balkan Initiative would cease to exist only if the signatory countries, Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia, decided to abolish all the laws that had been adopted through joint agreements within the initiative. However, he says that this is unlikely to happen considering all the benefits that these agreements bring to the citizens and the economy of the region. Therefore, he emphasizes that the projects implemented through "Open Balkan" will continue to thrive in the future, while the initiative itself tends to further develop.

Gajic emphasizes that the projects and agreements implemented within the "Open Balkan" cannot be extinguished for several reasons. The first is that this regional initiative has the same goal as the Berlin Process - the creation of a regional market in the Western Balkans, as a prerequisite for EU accession.

He notes that other countries in the region, as well as the EU itself, have softened their rhetoric regarding "Open Balkan" because they realized that creating a common market for the six entities in the region through the Berlin Process is a challenging task that could take several decades.

"'Open Balkan' is actually a term for closer cooperation among these three members and, of course, it is open to other countries in the region if they want to join. It is actually a series of agreements among these countries. In other words, 'Open Balkan' cannot be abolished because it, as an institution, does not de facto exist. These are individual sectoral agreements created between member countries. Therefore, 'Open Balkan' would cease to exist only if the countries decide to repeal the laws through which these agreements were adopted in parliaments and say, 'OK, this no longer applies', but I don't see that happening", Gajic said for Kosovo Online.

In his assessment, "Open Balkan" not only is not a "finished project", as some in the region have characterized it but, on the contrary, it has a tendency to expand in terms of new agreements and the accession of new members.

"There is a significant political impetus to maintain the current situation, if not to further improve it with new agreements. We will see what will happen with political changes in Montenegro. There is no serious and strong opposition to Montenegro's membership in 'Open Balkan' anymore, and there are even conciliatory statements in certain political circles within Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, there is no longer a great fear, as it has been realized that this is primarily an economic, not a political process", Gajic said.

As he adds, even within the EU, there are no longer major disputes about the essence of 'Open Balkan' and whether it actually works.

"My impression is that the EU now accepts 'Open Balkan' as one of the existing integration processes from which it can actually learn what to do and what not to do in this region, considering that the Berlin Process, which started in 2014, has so far not brought significant progress. There are green corridors for the movement of goods across the borders of EU member states, which actually go towards the EU, the recognition of certain qualifications within the Western Balkan countries, and there are some other less important integration agreements. In other words, it is still far from proclaiming the main goal, the joint creation of a regional market. If it continues at this pace within the Berlin Process, I'm afraid that creating a regional market will take several decades. In other words, it may never be completed", the economist believes.

Gajic notes that when six entities need to agree on some technical agreements, it is much more difficult and slower than when you have only three. In that context, he points out, the relationship between 'Open Balkan' and the Berlin Process should be considered – some countries are more prepared for integration processes than others, and therefore, they have decided that they do not have to wait for others at the "back of the line" to do something good.

He emphasizes that the economic effects of "Open Balkan" are indeed felt, and macroeconomic research indicates that such cooperation between regional countries attracts more foreign direct investment. Additionally, it positively affects trade and economic growth.

On the question of how he sees the Open Balkan Initiative in the future, Gajic says that integration processes and the implementation of agreements are currently progressing more slowly. He mentions plans to network the toll collection platform, which is already in place in Serbia and North Macedonia. Additionally, efforts are underway to create individual border crossings exclusively for citizens of the Open Balkan.

"When you look at the economy, from large foreign associations such as representatives of German, American, and other chambers of commerce operating here, to the chambers of commerce of the member states themselves, no one opposes integration processes, and everyone sees the great opportunity created by a larger open market in the Western Balkans compared to small national economies. So, the main fears of the Open Balkan are actually of a political nature, not economic", Gajic concludes.

Discussing the achievements of the Open Balkan, he states that there are many things of little significance at the real level, but also those that have some kind of marketing or symbolic significance, such as agreements on joint representation related to tourism in foreign markets or events like the "Wine Vision" fair.

He considers one of the most significant agreements among the three states to be the recognition of phytosanitary certificates.

"Things that truly have economic importance include the recognition of phytosanitary certificates. In other words, now food between the three signing countries, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania, can cross borders without unnecessary delays and stops at borders, without the need to obtain identical individual laboratory papers from Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania. It has been agreed that this documentation is recognized, which actually speeds up and reduces the cost of trade in agricultural and food products between these three countries", Gajic emphasized.

He also adds that one of the key projects that will significantly facilitate the movement, life, and employment of citizens is the creation of a common labor market.

"There is also the creation of a common labor market that is still progressing slowly because there is some kind of political standstill in the Macedonian Parliament. Due to their internal circumstances, the parliament is not operating at the intended pace as it was actually planned. But the idea is that a citizen of these three countries can register on a portal and receive something resembling our temporary unique identification number (JMBG), and with that number, they can apply for a job without obtaining a residence or work permit in any of these three member countries", he explained.