BERLIN – In a joint press conference at today’s Berlin Process Summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen spoke about the contribution of the Process to the European Union integration of the Western Balkans. While ten years ago, when the Berlin Process was launched, enlargement was not on top of the agenda, today it is very much a different situation, von der Leyen said.
In his speech, Olaf Scholz stated that the six Western Balkan countries are a part of the European family and that their future lies in the European Union.
“More than 20 years ago, these countries were promised EU membership in Thessaloniki. It is high time that these words are followed by actions. To achieve this, Germany launched the Berlin Process ten years ago”, Scholz said.
He said that, during today’s Summit, important progress was achieved that will make the lives of the citizens of the region easier.
“An example of this is the just-signed Common Regional Market Action Plan, with which the six states agreed to tighter cooperation on an economic area encompassing 17 million people. It will help, and this is very important for me personally, to better coordinate social and working standards and to make mobility between the countries easier”, Scholz said.
He added that another example is the Agreement on Access to Higher Education and Admission to Study in the Western Balkans.
“It stipulates that the students can attend high schools and universities in the entire region. That way, a generation will live, learn and study together”, the German Chancellor said.
He also said that a topic of the summit was regional conflicts and asserted that the Dialogue of normalization between Serbia and Kosovo was not proceeding satisfactorily.
“I insisted to both sides that they fully implement their obligations. In other countries, we also notice nationalistic divisive rhetoric. It is a danger for mutual development and common living in peace and prosperity. It is clear that these countries will only be able to join the European Union together”, Scholz said.
He commended the progress which was made in CEFTA, with the adoption of 9 agreements deepening regional trade and economic cooperation, and highlighted the role of Germany and its Special Representative for the Western Balkans Manuel Sarrazin in mediating this process.
“And I thank Kosovo for opening a border crossing for Serbian goods in this context. That is the spirit of the Berlin Process”, Scholz said.
He concluded by stating that he hoped it would not take another 10 years until the Western Balkans become EU Member States.
In her remarks, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that, while it was not the case 10 years ago when the Berlin Process was launched, today enlargement is very much at the top of EU’s agenda.
“When we are looking towards the future, we are looking to the future where all six Western Balkan countries are members of the EU. The first precondition is respect for our values, respect for democracy and the rule of law, and the second precondition is early economic integration – and that is why the Berlin Process plays a key role. It has been a driving force behind the regional economic integration and it has become a promoter of the Common Regional Market”, von der Leyen said.
The better the Common Regional Market functions, she added, the better can the Western Balkan countries, step by step, be integrated into the Single European Market.
“We needed a bridge between a Common Regional Market and the Single European Market. And this bridge is our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans… The Growth Plan and the Berlin Process are intervowen”, von der Leyen said.
She reported that five out of six Reform Agendas will be adopted by the Commission this week.
“And this means that payments of six billion Euros in total will start before the end of the year. This would have never been possible without the Berlin Process”, von der Leyen concluded.