REGIONAL INTEGRATION INITIATIVES IN THE WESTERN BALKAN: THE BERLIN PROCESS VERSUS THE OPEN BALKAN INITIATIVE

Abstract

Soon after the dissolution of the Former (SFR) Yugoslavia and the start of the transition to modern
democracies and market economies, the attempts for regional economic cooperation among the Western
Balkan countries (a region composed of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North
Macedonia and Serbia, together called WB6) have not lacked. On the contrary, numerous initiatives
have been launched, of which the early ones started in the 1990s, but the wars in the region halted them
temporarily. Afterwards the initiatives reemerged, including the Central European Free Trade
Agreement (CEFTA 2006), coupled with — or maybe as temporary substitution for — the EU
integration process of the WB6. Most prominent of the current regional integration initiatives are the
Berlin Process and the Open Balkan. However, albeit the progress achieved, the WB region is still not
a “single market” in the full meaning of all initiatives undertaken until now. There are some simple but
forceful reasons for that. Having this in mind, the aim of this paper is to offer a short presentation of
the main activities under the Berlin Process and the Open Balkan initiatives, as well as to detect their
similarities and differences. Hence, the first part of the paper presents the basic features of the Berlin
Process and the Open Balkan, while the second one outlines the similarities and differences. In the usual
manner, the paper ends with some recommendations.