Radovanovic: From June, work permits in Open Balkan countries will be "just a click away"

The Head of the Center for Regional Cooperation at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Aleksandar Radovanovic, stated for Kosovo Online that next month the unified labor market of the Open Balkan initiative should start functioning.

"It is expected that from June onwards, the joint labor market between the three member countries of the Open Balkan initiative – Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia – will begin to function. This means that citizens will be able to obtain residence and work permits in one of these countries with just a click, and they will have the same status as other citizens of those countries," Radovanovic said.

He emphasized that this will be a significant event for the Open Balkan initiative and the labor markets of the member countries and that it will also benefit citizens who will be able to find employment in Serbia, North Macedonia, or Albania without the previous administrative procedures and obstacles such as work visas and special permits. The process will be faster and easier.

"The process is extremely simple. Through our 'e-Administration' system, you obtain the Open Balkan identification number, which is used for applying at the 'e-Administration' in North Macedonia or Albania to obtain residence and work permits. There is no need to go to the police and check if there are unemployed workers waiting for the job you are applying for. No, everyone is literally equal in rights to the local population," Radovanovic explained.

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Ministers of North Macedonia and Albania, Zoran Zaev and Edi Rama, signed the Agreement on Free Access to the Labor Market in the Western Balkans at the Summit in Tirana on December 21, 2021, within the framework of the regional cooperation initiative "Open Balkan."

It is expected that the unified labor market will help fill the workforce capacity in the Open Balkan countries in agriculture, construction, tourism and hospitality, crafts, as well as the IT sector.

Great hopes are placed in the digitized system of the unified labor market of the Open Balkan to prevent further labor migration from these countries to the West, which has been significant in recent years. This is because citizens, especially young people, will have the opportunity to find employment in environments that are geographically closer to their families.

President Vucic stated at the Open Balkan Summit in Tirana that this would create a better future for the youth.

"By expanding the labor market, we will attract more companies from the West and the East because we will be able to offer a larger and better-educated workforce from all three countries. I guarantee that in the coming years, we will witness a significant increase in foreign direct investment attraction here," he emphasized.