Spearheaded by Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia, rebuffed by Kosovo, and regarded with skepticism by Montenegro and Bosnia and Hercegovina, the Open Balkan initiative met with criticism since its inception.
An idea that dates back to the early 1990s, and is attributed to former Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano, but abandoned due to the Yugoslav Wars, it was reintroduced in the agenda by current Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama during a meeting held in the frameworks of the Berlin Process (which was set up in 2014 as a platform for high-level cooperation between the six countries of the Western Balkans , EU member states and institutions, international financial institutions, and regional civil society and businesses).
It was back in the year 2018, when Rama gave the first signs of a Balkan-wide initiative. According to the Albanian premier, it was high time the region engaged in such a collaboration, as a way to improve political relations through free movement of goods, services and people in the countries of the Balkan Peninsula.
Concrete steps towards the initiative were declared in 10 October 2019, during a Novi Sad meeting between Rama, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and then North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who agreed to a mini-Schengen in the Balkans, as the initiative was previously known.
They extended invitations to Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Hercegovina, as mini-Schengen would help boost economic recovery and foreign investment, with Zaev arguing that the initiative showed that the Balkans are “no longer a gunpowder barrel” but a region of economic development and stability dedicated to European integration.
The plan was no political union in the mold of the former Yugoslavia, as some critics would have it, but a push to let people and businesses function more seamlessly across existing borders. The three initiators were still keen on EU membership being their main goal, despite regional growing frustration over the bloc’s hesitation in the enlargement process with the Western Balkan countries.
Despite prospective benefits of hassle-free travel, work, and shipping among Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia (and the other Western Balkan countries would they accept to take part), the initiative faced visible obstacles. Chief among them was Serbia’s and Bosnia’s non recognition of Kosovo’s statehood, despite years of Western prodding; thus making free movement between the countries (one of the initiative’s most coveted goals) simply unattainable, even though Kosovo lies at the geographical heart of the Western Balkans Six, sharing borders with Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania. Former President Hashim Thaçi would rightfully point out that the initiative was meaningless, as long as Kosovo’s statehood was not recognized by all participators. With key Kosovar politicians arguing that the initiative meant a deviation of the country’s path towards the EU, incoming Prime Minister Albin Kurti would emerge as one of the main opposition voices of the initiative, time and time again stressing that the only process Kosovo would ever be committed to is the German-backed initiative of the Berlin Process.
Following concerns that the initiative would benefit Serbia more than any of the participating countries, and accusations from Kosovo that he had stronger ties to Vučić than to Kosovo, PM Rama would go ahead and address all criticism surrounding the mini-Schengen.
Talking to Euronews Albania in April 2021, just a few days ahead of the parliamentary elections, Rama argued that such an initiative would abolish borders between Albania and Kosovo, but it “would be a long time lost until those in Kosovo would come to understand it”, indirectly blaming Pristina’s shortsighted vision on missing all the benefits that would ensue from the Open Balkan. But it came at a time when his relation with Kurti was unclear, as the latter participated in the Albanian parliamentary elections, causing Rama to refuse to even comment or mention his name in the days that led up to the elections.
The Albanian PM would go on defending the initiative each time he could, hailing it as a “new and bigger chance at getting Serbia to recognize Kosovo” as one of the main benefits. Despite having been called “a traitor”, Rama insisted he would not give up on the idea.
Serbian President Vučić would also defend the idea, claiming that the three participating countries “will be stronger together”, while combining efforts in areas such as the control of organized crime while maintaining their independence and sovereignty.
Despite growing criticism and doubt, leaders’ meetings went ahead. A new name to the initiative was announced on 29 July 2021 after a meeting in Skopje. It would now be known as Open Balkan, while the leaders agreed to abolish border controls between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania from 1 January 2023.
Meetings continued, with the leaders signing a raft of deals and agreeing to further the initiative and promote ties, garnering the support of the Western community as well, as long as the Open Balkan would serve as a regional initiative that would respect common goals of ultimately integrating the Balkans in the EU. However, commitment to the Berlin Process, stressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen back in August 2021, would be the main focus.
The stance was further reiterated by then German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who would welcome the initiative, arguing that it would empower the Berlin Process.
The United States as well declared in favor of the initiative, as long as it brought together all Balkan countries in the economic aspect.
Kosovo would vocally insist in its refusal to Open Balkan and reiterate its commitment to the Berlin Process, meanwhile Montenegro and Bosnia and Hercegovina would start to mull over the invitation to join. Then Montenegrin Prime Minister Dritan Abazović and former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Hercegovina Zoran Tegeltija attended the 8 June 2022 Open Balkan summit; however, any hopes or ambitions to join the initiative would never come to life, as both countries said they needed internal political debate to decide if attaching themselves to Open Balkan would be beneficial or not.
The Open Balkan would continue up until the latest crisis between Kosovo and Serbia. Following heightened tensions in northern Kosovo, where Albanian mayors took to offices in predominately Serb inhabited municipalities, with special units of Kosovo Police being deployed in the north, and later the abduction and detention of three Kosovo Police officers by Serbian authorities, Rama would go ahead on 23 June 2023 and suspend the initiative and freeze relations with Serbia if it did not release the three Kosovar policemen.
They eventually made it home, following continuous calls from Pristina and the Western community, an act that would seemingly enable Rama to lift all “punitive measures” against Serbia. However, the Albanian premier surprised everybody by announcing that the Open Balkan initiative would be no more as of 1 July 2023.
Exclusively speaking to Euronews Albania, Rama argued that the initiative had served its aim.
“For the first time since [former German Chancellor] Angela Merkel initiated the process with the Berlin Summit in 2014, Albania is expecting a summit to be held in Tirana in October. It is an extremely important summit as we prepare for a significant step forward… While we need to focus on this, of course, the Berlin Process is our main axis. The Open Balkans initiative was born out of the need to push forward the Berlin Process, and it has accomplished the mission for which it was born. Now we need to fully engage in the Berlin Process because we have this opportunity,” Rama declared.
He also added that he planned to meet with all regional leaders to discuss on the Berlin Process and ask them for their collaboration on the matter, meaning he had unilaterally decided to call an end to the Open Balkan initiative.
The decision seemingly shocked the Serbian President himself. Talking to TV Prva in Belgrade, Vučić said he did not believe what the Albanian Prime Minister had said and warned of a meeting soon enough to clarify on the matter.
“The Open Balkan is an autonomous and autochthonous idea of people from the Balkans. It is an expression of our desires and relations, not something we do under someone else’s rule,” the Serbian leader said, somewhat rebuking Rama’s previous claims that he was the one to push the Open Balkan initiative forward.
While there is yet no official reaction from North Macedonia, politicians and analysts in Kosovo who wholeheartedly opposed the initiative since its inception can breathe a sigh of relief, for there is no more “Serbian biased project” for them to worry about.
As it is, Kurti was right to reiterate Kosovo’s commitment to the Berlin Process; Montenegro and Bosnia and Hercegovina can rejoice in the fact that they did not join such a short-lived initiative; while Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia can figure out what to do with the bunch of agreements they shook hands on but never fully implemented on the ground.
