{"id":19298,"date":"2024-10-14T14:47:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T12:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/altax.al\/?p=19298"},"modified":"2024-10-14T21:03:14","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T19:03:14","slug":"the-berlin-process-10-years-much-hope-and-confidence-little-impact-on-economic-and-political-integration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altax.al\/en\/the-berlin-process-10-years-much-hope-and-confidence-little-impact-on-economic-and-political-integration\/","title":{"rendered":"The Berlin Process – 10 years: Much hope and confidence, little impact on economic and political integration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Berlin process began as an attempt to increase and expand the democratic, economic and liaison capacities between the countries of the Western Balkans region.<\/p>\n

At first glance, it would serve as a “night school” or a part-time governance model for the Balkan political and economic leadership.<\/p>\n

This approach of EU-supporting leaders can be seen in the initial goal of the Berlin Process, which was to last only four years.<\/a> However, this fall, the initiative celebrates its 10th anniversary.<\/p>\n

The summits that have been held every year since 2014 have added new priority areas to the agenda, creating new ministerial conferences and focus areas.<\/p>\n

A decade after the process was launched, there are now annual conferences on economic cooperation, youth exchange, security, digitalisation, green energy, agriculture, as well as Roma and gender issues.<\/p>\n

So, at first glance, the Berlin Process touches on the same topics that are included in the chapters that the Balkan countries must negotiate to join the EU.<\/p>\n

Although there has been a constant commitment and progress in creating the structures and capacities to achieve the commitment, it seems that the 2023 summit in Tirana<\/a> created a more complete step in entering a much more consolidated democratic and economic phase.<\/p>\n

With the completion of the structures for the implementation of the political and economic projects of the Berlin Process, the first consolidating step is the exclusion of the Open Balkans project by cutting off the abusive approaches of some Balkan leaders to personalize the process in favor of personal and party political credits.<\/p>\n

The second strong step is to condition the financial assistance with serious, inclusive and integrating projects of the region towards the common European market.<\/p>\n

The new trade agreements and the overcoming of representative obstacles in them (the case of Kosovo) make the common trust of all countries in this process more solid, increasing the chances that it will not remain mainly on paper and half-baked projects.<\/p>\n

So in this 10th anniversary of this initiative with many important directions, we see that a comprehensive platform has been built to increase cooperation and regional economic integration in the six countries of the Western Balkans.<\/p>\n

For Albania, this process has invested up to 465 million Euros<\/a> in various forms of financing.<\/p>\n

It is understood that the Berlin Process is much more appreciated for its international power of bringing together the divided Balkan countries and trying to move forward with key agreements and reforms for the countries of the region.<\/p>\n

Although ambitious goals have been set after 2023, including a “deepening” of the Balkan common market<\/a>, aligning the Green Agenda with the European Green Deal, boosting business development for potential investors and improving cooperation on issues ranging from transport infrastructure, to the sustainability of cyber security and the management of immigration and fight against organized crime, it seems that alongside each country, the necessary resources are being allocated for their fulfillment.<\/p>\n

In the 10th anniversary that is being concluded today with the meeting of the Balkan countries, based also on the specific report for this purpose[1]<\/a> it seems to come with a resilience to the difficult challenges of recent years to health and natural disasters, to the challenge of erosive emigration perspective, to the challenges of the green economic transition. But on the other hand, it is not this trend for sustainable progress in relation to the mobility of capitals, products and people, or otherwise cross-border trade and complementary and competitive integration of economies, the attraction of free capitals within the region, the improvement and structural transformation of economies and exports, bringing the standards of economic freedom and the economic and fiscal environment closer to EU standards.<\/p>\n

But, as mentioned in the speech of the Minister of State of the United Kingdom[2]<\/a>, the 10-year conclusion of the Berlin Process, or the expectation in a not too distant period should be:<\/p>\n

We need to create more jobs for young people, curbing the ‘brain drain’ that damages a country’s economy.<\/p>\n

We must continue to make progress on women’s and girls’ rights as part of broader improvements in governance rights and ensuring pluralistic democratic societies. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the cornerstone of our efforts to create a more peaceful, stable and prosperous region.<\/p>\n

These expected results should come precisely from the cooperation between the countries of the Western Balkans by<\/a>:<\/p>\n