Čadež at the Delphi Economic Forum: The Western Balkans in Two Steps towards the EU

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 creation of the European Economic Community of Southeast Europe (EEC SEE), and the second is to speed up the process towards full membership, said Marko Čadež, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia at the Economic Forum in the ancient city of Delphi in Greece.

Čadež, who participated in the panel dedicated to the Western Balkans - "Western Balkans: Stability or Friction" along with Miroslav Lajčak, EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Priština-Western Balkans Dialogue, Gabriel Escobar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs, Fatmir Bytyci, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs of Northern Macedonia, and Kurt Volker, US diplomat, pointed out that simple agreement between European Economic Community of SEE and European Union could enable countries of the Western Balkans to become part of the  EU single market and enjoy all four freedoms within this area, in the near future.

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. "Finland, Austria, Iceland had such a model of EU accession, and that is how Iceland or Norway function today," said the president of the CCIS. As he pointed out, the most important question is how to contribute to the acceleration of the integration process, because since 2003 we have been hearing how the countries of this region have a European perspective. The business community of the entire region has a unified position that the accession process should be redefined in agreement with European partners.

The President of the CCIS pointed out that the cooperation within the Open Balkans works very well and expressed hope that more countries will join this initiative because it comes from the countries in the region. "Earlier, there was no intensive communication between the ministries of the Republic of North Macedonia and Serbia, and now the ministers communicate on a weekly basis and solve problems on how to speed up the passage of trucks across borders, how to recognize mutual documents, and certificates. On one hand, this is a good result, on the other hand, we need to find a way to communicate with the European Union as a region and to have a clear perspective," Čadež said.

"I do not see why our political processes would not develop at the same pace as our economic cooperation in the region, where large companies that operate simultaneously in Albania, Serbia, and Macedonia work following the same principles and mechanisms. That is in our common interest", he pointed out.

Miroslav Lajcak sees the perspective of the Western Balkans in the European Union and wants the WB to develop as a strong region with the capacity to address challenges, with the support of the international community.

Gabriel Escobar pointed out that the countries of the Western Balkans are historically, culturally, and economically part of Europe and sees the European future of the WB.

This year's Delphi Economic Forum was dedicated to topics such as world security, global economic trends, climate change, the future of the European Union, technological and social change, the recovery of the Greek economy ... This Forum is a non-profit organization working with civil society, business representatives and other experts from the world of business, science, and politics with the aim of solving current challenges in the world. The activities of the forum are focused on the development of national and regional activities to promote the sustainable development of the economies of Greece, Europe, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Europe.