At a meeting in Albania on Saturday premiers of the Western Balkans agreed on enhanced regional cooperation with the purpose of market expansion and the attraction of more foreign investments. EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn who attended the meeting commented that the establishment of a regional economic zone with the idea for economic growth’s pushing and the opening of new jobs was a key priority for the Western Balkans. At the same time Mr. Hahn reminded that the regional economic integration was not and would not be an alternative to the EU membership.
The Serbian authorities recovered the activities of their embassy in Macedonia, after having pulled out its entire personnel earlier due to Belgrade’s accusations of ‘an intelligence offensive against Serbian institutions’. However, the Serbian ambassador remains in Belgrade for the moment. At the Albanian meeting of Western Balkans’ premiers Serbian PM Ana Brnabić invited her Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev to visit Belgrade in the autumn. It became clear that Macedonia would abstain from voting for Kosovo’s UNESCO accession. EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn expressed his content that the diplomatic issue between Skopje and Belgrade had been solved quickly without the international interference of the EU.
When Kosovo’s parliament failed to form a quorum for the election of a new chair on Thursday, Vice President of the Democratic Party Enver Hoxhaj requested an additional term of two weeks, in order for the ballots needed to be provided. In a message sent to outgoing PM Isa Mustafa EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn called on for the urgent forming of a new, pro-European, stable and reformist government.
Albanian PM Edi Rama voiced to the parliament the members of his new government which has to be approved in the first days of September by President Ilir Meta. The cabinet will have one vice premier, two state ministers and 11 ministers, as the number of women there is equal to the one of men. The ministry of finances merges with the one of the economy and the healthcare one merges with the social policy institution. Current Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati has been once again proposed for the same position.
Mr. David McAllister, European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia declared that Serbia would have to meet all EU membership criteria, which meant the opening and closure of all the 35 chapters of the accession treaty. According to Mr. McAllister, special attention should be paid to the chapters, related to superiority of the law and also to the taking of steps for visible and sustainable improvement of the relations with Kosovo. By hailing the appeal of President Aleksandar Vučić for dialogue with Kosovo, the rapporteur underlined that the society, politicians, religious communities, NGOs and the business should find a solution for the normalization of the connections between Belgrade and Pristina on solid grounds.
The I Kathimerini newspaper reports that Greek PM Alexis Tsipras planned a visit to Bulgaria on a still unknown date in September. According to the edition, the visit’s goal is the signing of an agreement for a railroad connection between the ports of Alexandroupoli and Varna, viewed as a major strategic move for regional and international economic cooperation. Tsipras is then expected to visit Romania, France and Austria and to meet next in Athens with leaders of Germany, Spain and Italy.
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