Kotor – The Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Majlinda Bregu took part at the Western Balkans Leaders’ Summit, dubbed One region, common vision, focusing on bringing the region closer to the EU through the EU Growth Plan and the Common Regional Market (CRM) Action Plan, held in Kotor today. 

The WB leaders expressed their appreciation of the tangible results produced by the RCC-coordinated Common Regional Market (CRM) Action Plan, as the driver of intra-regional trade and the booster of economic integration in the Western Balkans.  

“The CRM is an “access gateway” for progressive integration into the EU single market and socio-economic convergence with the EU since the road towards enhanced economic consolidation with the Union’s market leads via a “barrier-free” Common Regional Market. The results of the implementation of the current CRM are telling, evidencing the real tangible socio-economic transformative impacts of numerous regional policy agendas, but they are also pointing to the yet untapped economic integration potentials that can still be unleashed so that 10% growth can be added to our economies,” said Bregu at the meeting. 

The WB leaders voiced readiness to endorse the CRM Action Plan 2025-2028 at the Berlin Process Leaders’ Summit 2024 and invited the RCC, in cooperation with relevant regional partners, to coordinate this new phase of the CRM as well as to continue the support and facilitate the involvement of Parliaments in the Berlin Process and other regional integration agendas.

 “Given the various convergence scenarios that put our region on 24 to 72 years of convergence approximation journeys – not even a single growth % prospect must be wasted. We cannot establish a Common Market in WB if the human capital is left aside. Fostering labour mobility within our region could potentially add a significant 1.3% to GDP by 2025 and generate 80,000 new jobs. A favourable and competitive environment can increase annual growth by 2%, attract up to 6.5% more investment, and boost the job growth rate by up to 1% per year, while increasing SME productivity by 5% to 10%. Hence, the new CRM will focus on enhancing human capital and skills development, but also on fostering digital transformation and enabling business friendly environment and boosting competitiveness,” added Bregu.  

Leaders also welcomed the adoption of the Growth Plan (GP) by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU and reiterated their commitment to embracing the opportunities of the GP, including the intensified efforts to follow up on past commitments under the Berlin Process, especially full implementation of the Agreements on mobility. 

The RCC Secretary General stressed that in the forthcoming period, the RCC, along with all key authorities and partners, will work towards substantiating the future CRM Action Plan with actionable measures, expected results and implementation timeline – to be ready for endorsement at the upcoming Berlin Process Summit. 

The next meeting of the leaders of the Western Balkans Six on the Growth Plan will take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina.