BERLIN – “The establishment of the Common Regional Market will be one of the greatest achievements of the Western Balkans. And there many important initiatives that actually originated in the Berlin Process which are being overtaken by the EU, said Manuel Sarrazin, Special Representative of the German Federal Government for the countries of the Western Balkans. Sarrazin spoke at the panel entitled “Ten Years of the Berlin Process: Milestones, Successes and Civil Society Involvement” at the Civil Society and Think Tank Forum, which was opened today in Berlin.
The Forum takes place on 9 – 11 October, within the framework of the Berlin Process, and is organised by the Southeast Europe Association and the Aspen Institute Germany, with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office.
As one of the “success stories” of the Berlin Process, Sarrazin stated the establishment of the Transport Community. However, he claimed that “things should have been done better” regarding the implementation of the agreements that have been reached so far within the framework of the Berlin Process.
“We do not have the Secretariat or the other bodies for the implementation in the Berlin Process, whereas the EU institutions have much bigger tools”, Manuel Sarrazin stressed.
Speaking about the achievements made over the last ten years, Armand Skapi, Secretary General of the Albanian Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, noted that the Berlin Process has contributed to establishing “much more connectivity between the Western Balkans countries”, including the strengthening of the economic ties.
“A lot of regional mechanisms which are part of the Process tend to bring the tangible results in bringing the region closer to each others, as well as to bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU”, Armand Skapi stressed.
Similarly, Albert Hani, Secretary General of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) underlined that the Berlin Process “brings the spirit of the reconciliation” to the Western Balkans.”
“The expectations are very high, but the resources are limited, but we also connect the institutions at regional levels… There is a lot of work to be done when it comes to reconciliation in the region”, Albert Hani concluded.
The Berlin Process was set up in 2014 as a platform to increase cooperation between the Western Balkans Six and the Berlin Process host countries as well as the EU. High official representatives of the Western Balkan Six (WB6) and their peers in Berlin Process host countries meet at least once a year at the Summit and preparatory Ministerial meetings. The Process also involves the EU institutions, international financial institutions and the region’s civil society, youth and businesses.