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Ohrid Summit held to promote regional ‘Mini-Schengen’ initiative

Regardless of being invited, Kosovo boycotted the Ohrid Summit. Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi cited several reasons for the Kosovo representatives’ lack of participation.

Politiko 11 Nëntor 2019, 15:23

Ohrid Summit held to promote regional ‘Mini-Schengen’ initiative

North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met in the North Macedonian city of Ohrid on Saturday and Sunday to promote the establishment of a so-called Mini-Schengen area in the Western Balkans. The first meeting of this new regional initiative was held in the Serbian city of Novi Sad on 10 October, with the goal is to establish a common economic area, modeled on the passport-free zone of the European Union (EU), with the aim of ensuring free movement of people, goods, capital, and services.

Regardless of being invited, Kosovo boycotted the Ohrid Summit. Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi cited several reasons for the Kosovo representatives’ lack of participation. “First, Kosovo was deliberately overlooked by Serbia at the first summit of this new regional initiative. Second, Kosovo does not want to replace its Euro-Atlantic perspective with any regional initiative. And third, this regional initiative is meaningless as long as Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina do not recognize Kosovo’s independence,” Thaçi said in a Facebook post. PM Rama said in a press conference held at the end of the Summit that he did not understand the reasons behind Pristina’s self-exclusion and dispelled as untrue the claims of Kosovo’s LDK party leader Isa Mustafa, who had told him earlier that this new initiative would lead to the establishment of a new Yugoslavia. Rama’s words were echoed by Zaev and Vučić, who said that this initiative did not mean the creation of a new Yugoslavia nor a Greater Albania, but was rather an effort to provide for a better life for the citizens of the three countries with the final aim being EU membership.

During the meeting, the three leaders agreed to allow free travel between the countries only using an ID card and a common work permit that would allow people to work in all three countries. Citizens of North Macedonia can already travel to Albania and Serbia with only an ID. Albania and Serbia will enable this before the end of the year. Companies from each of the three countries will be able to bring in skilled labor from any of the three without additional procedures. The free and fast movement of goods will be encouraged by the introduction of 24-hour working time for all inspection services with a focus on phytosanitary and veterinary inspection. Mutual recognition of professional qualifications is also envisaged, as well as encouraging student exchanges and launching joint research and development projects. All agreed steps will be included in the action plan, which should produce concrete results by the next meeting of this initiative, scheduled to be held in Durrës, on 21 December. Montenegrin Economy Minister Dragica Sekulić and the Chair of Bosnia’s Council of Ministers, Denis Zvizdić, attended the Ohrid Summit on its second day, saying that this initiative would be further reviewed in their respective countries before joining.

Democratic Party (DP) Chair Lulzim Basha dispelled the Mini-Schengen initiative as a piece of government propaganda, saying that no other options could replace the aspiration of the Albanian people to join the EU. According to the DP Chair, Rama is a corrupt autocrat who cannot engage in similar initiatives, which should rather be based on the principles of democracy, the rule of law and the guaranteeing of human rights and freedoms.