Prime Minister Zoran Zaev insisted that the Mini Schengen initiative between Macedonia, Albania and Serbia will lead to a better life in the Balkan region. The three leaders are meeting in Ohrid today as part of the process which was launched just as the European Union, under French pressure, announced that it is closing the doors to Balkan would-be members.
Our action plan provides for 24/7 open borders that will allow movement of our citizens using only their identity cards, and fast track movement for trucks over the border crossings. We will have all the food and veterinary documents accepted automatically with greater mobility of goods and services. This will lead to better lives for all of us and open a new chapter. I hope that the Western European countries will recognize this initiative, Zaev said during the joint press conference.
The countries in the region already have a very high level of integration in the economy and movement of people, but left without an immediate EU perspective, despite the humiliating name change, Zaev enthusiastically jumped on this regional initiative.
Media outlets in Serbia have also gushed over it, insisting that it ensures a dominant role for their country, even labeling it as the “pro-Serbian project” in the region. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic insisted that Mini Schengen will not be a “new Yugoslavia”.
Some may yet demolish this initiative and it may fail, but it may bring a better life for our people. I’m proud at the treaty we reached. This is our future. It’s not a new Yugoslavia, it’s just better life for all, Vucic said.
Macedonia is the junior partner in the process, which includes the much larger Serbia and Albania, which on the other hand is hoping to bring Kosovo into the “Mini Schengen”. Kosovan President Hashim Thaci refused to participate at the meeting today, insisting that Kosovo is only interested in a full Euro-Atlantic perspective. Bosnia and Montenegro were also represented. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama condemned Thaci’s decision.
The idea is not to partition the Western Balkans but to include all of its member states. There was no problem preventing the President or the Prime Minister of Kosovo to participate in the dialogue. There was a time when Serbian and Bosnian representatives could not sit with Kosovo, but now its participation is not under a question. I see no interest in going back in this, Rama said, adding that Kosovan citizens should not have to wait in lines at the border crossings in the region.
Vucic, who pointedly told Zaev that he will not repeat, “like a parrot”, the mantra that the EU is the only option for the region, said that he faced criticism in Serbia when he would push infrastructure projects that include Kosovo, just as Rama is now facing criticism in Albania, because he is joining what is seen as a Serbian led initiative. Vucic said that such criticism will blow over.
The meeting at the Macedonian lakeside resort city includes one secretive guest. Alexander Soros, the son of the leftist billionaire George Soros who has strongly supported both Zaev and Rama in their political campaigns, flew into Ohrid. His agenda was not revealed to the public, but it is believed that he is meeting the Balkan leaders.
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