The proposal of the business community of the Western Balkans for faster integration of the region into the European Union is very clear and simple – the first step is to urgently start negotiations for the European Economic Community of Southeast Europe, and the second to speed up the process towards full membership.
This was said by the President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Marko Čadež, at the Economic Forum in Greek Delphi at the panel dedicated to the Western Balkans – “Western Balkans: Stability or Disagreements”, the PKS announced.
“With a simple agreement with the European Union, the Western Balkan countries could become part of the EU’s single market in the near future and enjoy all four freedoms within the region,” Chadez said at a panel attended by Belgrade’s EU Special Representative for Dialogue. and Pristina’s Miroslav Lajcak and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Gabriel Escobar.
Chadez pointed out that the Western Balkans would first become part of the European Union as the European Economic Community of Southeast Europe, and later as a full member, and stated that Finland, Austria, Iceland had such a model of EU accession, and that Iceland or Norway functions today.
The President of the SCC assessed that the cooperation within the Open Balkans works very well and expressed hope that more countries will join the initiative, because it comes from countries in the region.
Lajcak sees the perspective of the Western Balkans in the European Union and wants it to develop as a strong region with the capacity to address challenges, with the support of the international community.
Escobar pointed out that the countries of the Western Balkans are the historical, cultural and economic part of Europe and that he is convinced of the European future of the region, Danas reports.
