“I am convinced and I do not doubt that the Open Balkans is the right idea at the right time. Everyone will embrace it step by step, We have no time to lose. We have to be completely open with each other to create an image of what we want to be,” has said Premier Edi Rama.
Rama, a launcher of the initiative along with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev, made that comment at a ceremony celebrating the anniversary of the opening of the German Foundation “Friedrich Ebert” in Albania on Thursday.
PM was determined to carry out the project despite any objection.
“By doing it today and doing it with conviction, we are not only building a functional space of the four EU freedoms. But we are giving ourselves the opportunity to grow our economy. No country has the luxury of engaging in planned politics seen for domestic political reasons,” he said.
Open Balkans initiative is rejected by half of the six countries that comprise the Western Balkans and they are Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia. Their main objection is linked to the fear that
would have an upper hand in the region. Rama blasted Bulgaria for blocking the EU accession process without mentioning its dispute with North Macedonia.
“Who would have thought that Bulgaria would come out against. We were convinced that the Netherlands would be relieved of stress in relation to sitting at the table with Albania and now we have Bulgaria. No one can predict that another country will not come out. Bulgaria until recently agreed 100%. We will do our best to benefit. The integration process is a process of knowledge transfer to have an attention in terms of criticism for the way things are going,” Rama said.
The EC progress report on Albania and North Macedonia concluded that both countries had fulfilled the conditions for the opening of accession talks with the Union this year. / Argumentum.al
