Today, November 4, the next meeting between the three countries that have signed the initiative of ‘Open Balkan’, Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia, is taking place in Belgrade. The meeting was also joined by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Zdravko Krivokapic. Due to the resignation of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, North Macedonia is represented by Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Dimitrov.

Prime Minister Edi Rama and Deputy Prime Minister Dimitrov arrived in Belgrade last night, where they were received for dinner by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. This dinner was joined by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Zdravko Krivokapic, who is concluding his official visit to Serbia, although this does not confirm that the country is joining the ‘Open Balkan’ initiative, it can be seen as a step towards inclusion.

As part of an ambitious project for the entire region, that the Balkans finally leave behind centuries of division, ‘Open Balkan’, Prime Minister Rama, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, on July 29 last, signed a joint declaration, which is based on the 4 great freedoms of cooperation in the western world: freedom of movement of goods, capital, people and services. The regional cooperation initiative was also supported by the United States, the EU and Germany, which issued a statement urgently requesting the signing of the Common Regional Market Agreement before the EU-Balkans Summit on October 6th. However, Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina are not joining the initiative. The Government of Kosovo, led by Albin Kurti, thinks that the “mini-Schengen” initiative is a visionless initiative for the region.

/Klara Ruci/