Misini: It will be beneficial for the citizens of the region to have European standards and laws

Economics professor Shkumbin Misini assessed that the countries of the Western Balkans have an opportunity to implement significant changes and align themselves with European norms, but that their authoritarian leadership is preventing them from carrying out reforms.

“It is important to note, however, that Albania and Montenegro are expected to join the European Union in the near future, which depends both on future reforms and on the leadership of those countries. In contrast, other countries are not implementing reforms, which is why they have been penalized during the integration process,” Misini told Kosovo Online.

According to him, it will be beneficial for citizens to have European standards, applicable European laws, foreign investments, independent judicial institutions, and an improved quality of life.

“The integration process faces opposition from the autocratic leaders of these countries, who refuse to implement the reforms necessary for accession to the European Union, as well as from the interests of certain communist states that provide financial resources for the destabilization of the Western Balkans in order to prevent these countries from integrating into the European Union, and which oppose the European Union, NATO, European values, and the like,” Misini said.