Political analysts in North Macedonia have criticized the Balkan tour of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama as hasty and an attempt to diminish the pan-Albanian revolt caused by his stance and actions regarding Kosovo.
Speaking to Euronews Albania, analyst Visar Ademi and journalist Naser Selmani criticized Rama’s stances on the recent tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.
“I understand that Rama wants to become a protagonist and emerge with regional initiatives, a kind of Henry Kissinger of the Balkans, in order to mediate conflicts. Albanians are frustrated because Rama is playing the role of a diplomat, whereas he should have been a party in this process and supported [Kosovo Prime Minister Albin] Kurti and the official policy of Kosovo,” said analyst Visar Ademi.
Meanwhile, journalist Naser Selmani urged Rama to exert pressure on Serbia regarding Kosovo, as he fears their idea of partitioning Kosovo.
“If Prime Minister Rama does not reiterate and understand that the policy of continuous concessions to [Serbian President Aleksandar] Vučić is harmful, because if you continuously make concessions to him, he will not give up Serbia’s hegemonic policy. On the contrary, he will be emboldened and continue with his politics, new demands, until he achieves the idea of Greater Serbia. I am convinced that if the Association of Serb Majority Municipalities is allowed, this will not be Vučić’s and Serbia’s final demand,” says journalist Naser Selmani.
The Albanian premier visited the five capitals of the Western Balkans, to promote the Berlin Process summit of 16 October, scheduled to be held in Tirana since the inception of this process. Rama also tackled on the termination of the Open Balkan, a joint initiative of Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia meant to push forward the Berlin Process.
As he stated in a previous interview to Euronews Albania, the Albanian prime minister announced the initiative had come to an end, while urging the participating countries and the rest of the region to fully immerse themselves in the Berlin Process.
The analysts described the Open Balkan initiative as a failure, as they say they have not seen any economic benefits from it.
“Has our life improved? Have our salaries increased? Are we living better? These are simple indicators that every citizen of North Macedonia can assess. They manipulate some numbers, saying that trade exchange has increased, but we have not felt this in terms of our living standards,” says Selmani.
“North Macedonia may not have gained much. Serbia and Albania have benefited. Serbia has benefited from the free trade agreements that have been signed, taking advantage of the friendly climate, increasing trade with North Macedonia. Meanwhile, Albania has gained many tourists from Serbia, convinced by the friendly atmosphere… Albania, for the first time, has a trade surplus. It surpasses North Macedonia in terms of exports and imports. They export more than they import from North Macedonia. The larger states are always the winners in these situations,” says Ademi.
So far, North Macedonia has signed several agreements within the framework of the Open Balkan initiative, but only the green lanes agreement for faster movement of goods has been implemented.
An upcoming announcement is that one of the agreements for common border checkpoints will be realized soon.
