SOFIA – The next meeting within the Berlin Process, which will bring together the leaders of the Western Balkans and the European Union, will be held on 10 November in Sofia, Bulgaria, when a plan for creating a common regional market should be adopted.
The EU plan to establish a regional economic community in the Western Balkans will be adopted in Sofia.
According to the European Commission, the community will bring tangible benefits to companies and citizens.
These include reducing cross-border bank charges, removing technical trade barriers, coordinating investment policies, recognizing professional qualifications across the region and promoting e-commerce.
The Berlin process began in 2014. The goal of the process, initiated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was to reach a joint agreement on strengthening regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and resolving the remaining open issues in the region.
The European Fund for the Balkans, the European Council on Foreign Relations – Sofia office, and the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” Skopje will jointly organize the Think Tank and Civil Society Forum on November 9, 2020, which will precede the Berlin Process 2020 Sofia Summit.
The idea of the event is to have the broader picture of geopolitics and geo-economics discussed at the Think Tank Forum, and then a concretisation of the implications on the daily lives of citizens.