"The Open Balkans has fulfilled the mission for which it was born, now let's enter the Berlin Process"

 Edi Rama and the flags of EU and Albania in his background (archive)

 Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, declared today that the "Open Balkans" initiative has completed its mission for which it was created, which he says was to push forward the Berlin Process, reports Express.

Rama stated that the main focus now is the Berlin Process, mentioning that the Summit will be held in Tirana this year.

"The Berlin Process is now our main axis. 'Open Balkans' was an initiative that arose from the need to push forward the Berlin Process, and it has now fulfilled that mission it was created for. We must now fully engage in the Berlin Process because we have the opportunity, we have it in Tirana. We have the chance to take ownership of it as a process, with the great support we have from Germany, from Chancellor Scholz, and from everyone else," Rama said in an interview with Euronews Albania.

He mentioned that he will make visits to all the countries in the region to meet with the prime ministers and presidents and inform them about the progress in this direction.

"The Berlin Process is our future. I am preparing to travel to the region. I want to meet all the prime ministers and presidents, in Skopje, in Pristina, in Belgrade, in Sarajevo, and in Podgorica, to inform them about what we are doing," Rama declared.

The regional cooperation initiative, "Open Balkans," which includes Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania, was initiated by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, and the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, in October 2019.

Initially, the initiative was called "Mini Schengen" and it envisions the free movement of capital, goods, services, and people among the three countries.

In July 2021, at the Regional Economic Cooperation Forum in Skopje, the initiative was renamed "Open Balkans."

Kosovo has been against this initiative from the beginning. Prime Minister Albin Kurti previously stated that "Open Balkans" resembles more of an "Open Balkans for Eastern influences" rather than an initiative for regional common market.

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has also stated earlier that "Open Balkans" is not built on the principles of regional cooperation and that the six Western Balkan countries are not treated equally in this initiative.