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Want to work better together in the Balkans: Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić and the Prime Ministers of North Macedonia and Albania, Zoran Zaev and Edi Rama (from left)
Photo: Boris Grdanoski / dpa
There will be no more border controls between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania in the future. The barriers are to remain open from January 1, 2023. This was decided by Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, his North Macedonian colleague Zoran Zaev and Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić in the North Macedonian capital Skopje, according to media reports.
The cooperation should also serve the EU accession that the three countries are striving for, said Rama.
"We have no reason to stand with our backs to one another within our borders," said the Albanian Prime Minister.
"Today we are starting to do in the region what we will do tomorrow in the EU." Serbian President Vučić said that from January 1, 2023, there will still be borders, "but no more support for our citizens."
The opening will be a "historic moment".
The meeting in Skopje was the result of an initiative of the three countries, which was founded in October 2019 under the name "Mini-Schengen" in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Now the initiative has been renamed »Open Balkan«.
Hundreds of entrepreneurs took part in the conference organized by the chambers of commerce of the federal states.
Reservations in Kosovo
The initiators also wanted to include Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but these countries refused.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti reiterated that his country does not want to participate.
He fears Belgrade's intentions to create "a fourth Yugoslavia", as he said in 2020.
In addition, politicians want to work towards ensuring that their countries mutually open their labor markets, facilitate trilateral foreign trade and cooperate in disaster control.
To this end, they signed the corresponding letters of intent.
Criticism of the EU
According to the AP news agency, the three heads of state also expressed their displeasure with the recent difficult EU accession talks at the summit.
North Macedonia has been a candidate for accession to the Union since 2005, but after resistance from Greece, Bulgaria recently stood up to further negotiations.
North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zaev spoke of the EU's failure to resolve its problems with a member state.
This is "against the European idea, against the interests of the EU itself," said Zaev.
fek / dpa / AP
