Djuric: In the context of our region’s future, “Balkanization” should be replaced by cooperation

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, speaking at the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Balkan Peace Platform in Antalya, said that he firmly believes that, in the context of our region’s future, “Balkanization” should be replaced by cooperation.

“We have just concluded a very successful round of dialogue within the Balkan Peace Initiative, which is gaining momentum and, I believe, creating a new paradigm of cooperation in this regional context. It is nothing new to say that our region, the Balkans, is known for the term ‘Balkanization’, and I must admit that sometimes I wish that, in this era of conspiracy theories, all that ‘Balkanization’ would actually be a kind of conspiracy of all of us to take over every forum in the world by the number of participants and the number of topics we always bring with us,” Djuric said, according to a statement by the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, the Serbian foreign minister also pointed out that he firmly believes that “Balkanization” should be replaced by cooperation.

“And that is why I believe that creating new, concrete, tangible projects that will open up what is much needed, namely the free movement of goods, capital, people, and services, is our duty. This is essential for the survival and prosperity of each of our proud nations,” Djuric stressed.

Speaking about the importance of cooperation, the minister also referred to current international circumstances.

“In that context, given that we are also facing a global, unprecedented crisis with immediate consequences, for example in the energy sector, we believe that establishing mechanisms of cooperation in energy and resource sharing, building new gas pipelines, and creating mechanisms for expressing solidarity in emergency situations, in an era in which we see that many major European economies are at risk of not having access to sufficient quantities of fuel, is of utmost importance,” Djuric assessed.

According to him, much has also been said about the issue of “brain drain” in the region, adding that the only way to stop it is to create optimism about the future of the region.

“Identity is important, territory is important, all our statehoods and nations are very important, but we will not be able to preserve any of that if we do not create optimism for future generations. And we are committed to that in every possible sense,” Djuric concluded.

Speaking about the process of accession to the European Union, the Serbian foreign minister emphasized that up to ten new laws are being adopted this week, as Serbia wants to technically complete everything required for EU accession as quickly as possible.

“I am not overly optimistic about the pace of the decision-making mechanism on that issue, because we all know it is an ongoing discussion. But I believe that the initiative brought into focus by President Aleksandar Vucic and Prime Minister Edi Rama, about enabling the region to enter the common market and essentially the Schengen Area, is something that would cost European taxpayers nothing, increase the security of the wider region, and essentially mitigate chauvinistic or, in a negative sense, nationalist agendas,” Djuric said.

Therefore, he stressed, Serbia strongly supports an approach that would enable it to finally make some concrete progress.

“A child who was born at the time when the Thessaloniki Declaration was adopted has already been a voter for years. And they will vote against all of us and for who knows what kind of extreme options if we are not able to offer something tangible,” Minister Marko Djuric said.