Many things have changed in the last ten years, the times of wars, conflicts and upheavals have brought a new awareness to the EU - the understanding that a bigger EU is a stronger EU, European Commission President Ursula Fond der Leyen said today at a Berlin Process summit in the German capital, which marks the 10th anniversary of the creation of the format, writes BTA.
"It is our responsibility to bring female membership candidates closer to us. Therefore, we offer the countries of the Western Balkans the same solidarity measures that we have taken inside the EU. One example is energy prices," Von der Leyen added in a statement broadcast live on the European Commission's YouTube channel.
She noted some of the measures through which the EU provides support to the six countries of the Western Balkans.
"We are helping households in the Western Balkans cope with higher energy prices through our €1 billion aid package. We are now building energy infrastructure to make the Western Balkans more energy independent with a €30 billion investment plan. Another example is civil protection, including the fight against fires, floods and other disasters," Von der Leyen pointed out.
The President of the EC emphasized that currently the enlargement of the EU is one of the key priorities on the agenda.
"This was not the case 10 years ago, but today expansion is a very important priority on our agenda. When we look to the future, we see a future in which all six partners from the Western Balkans are part of the EU. To get there, I think we need to learn the lessons of 2004 - the first precondition is synchronization with all European values, respect for democracy and the rule of law, and the second precondition is early economic integration. The Berlin process plays a key role in this," she noted.
The Berlin process has become a driving factor in the common regional market of the six countries of the Western Balkans, Von der Leyen added. "I strongly welcome the agreement reached last week at the level of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), I particularly welcome that restrictions on the export of Serbian goods to Kosovo will be removed. I welcome the political will shown by both sides. These are very specific steps for normalization," the EC president pointed out.
It welcomes the signing today of a new Action Plan for the Common Regional Market. "The better the common regional market functions, the better the economies of the countries of the Western Balkans will gradually integrate into our single European market. We needed a bridge between the regional market and the single European market. This bridge is our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans - 6 billion euros of investment, presented last year at the summit of the Berlin Process in Tirana", noted Von der Leyen.
She reminded that the plan envisages that the countries will carry out certain reforms, and in return they will be supported by European investments.
Von der Leyen said each of the six countries had to submit its own reform plan and five of the six plans would be approved this week, meaning payments of a total of €6 billion under the Growth Plan could started by the end of the year. "This would not have been possible without the Berlin trial,", she pointed out.
The Berlin Process for the Western Balkans was launched in 2014 at the initiative of Germany and aims to support and deepen the economic integration of the six countries of the Western Balkans (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia) and the convergence of the region with the values and socio-economic standards of the EU.