The “Open Balkans” conference will be held today in Banja Luka, where members of the initiative from the economic and political sphere should gather.
The conference is organized by the Association of Young Economists of the Republika Srpska, under the auspices of the Entity Ministry for European Integration and International Cooperation.
The arrival of representatives from Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, as well as from the United Nations and the Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected. None of the politicians and businessmen from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed their participation in the conference.
Through three panel discussions: ‘Open Balkans – opportunities and challenges’, ‘Are we ready for the free flow of people, goods, services and capital’ and ‘Global European and regional initiatives’, the idea of ‘Open Balkans’ will be presented at the upcoming conference in Banja Luka.
According to the organizers, the initiative will be viewed from both political and economic aspects.
“I definitely think that it is a benefit for the whole country and, from my point of view, I would like Bosnia and Herzegovina to join this story and to sign as one of the members of the ‘Open Balkans’,” says the vice president of the Association of Young Economists of the RS, Dušan Komljenović.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina recently confirmed that there is no agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding this initiative. He was explicit – there are no talks about the ‘Open Balkans’ until the ratification of the Berlin process is completed.
“When we finish the ratification of the Berlin process, which opens up a lot of space for economic cooperation with everyone in the Balkans, then we will consider and participate in the talks about the ‘Open Balkans’, in order to define whether it is a political issue and has a political ideology or is it a chance for our economy”, said Konaković (March 22, 2023)
Political analyst Enver Kazaz believes that Konaković insists on the Berlin process because it is an integral part of European integration. The reason for the absence of participants from the Federation at the upcoming conference in Banja Luka lies in the different ideological interpretation of the ‘Open Balkans’ initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“On one side, there are interpretations that it is a purely economic, practical initiative that should enable simpler economic and other communication between the countries of the Western Balkans. And on the other side, there is an interpretation, represented by Željko Komšić, that it is a strategy for the creation of a Serbian world “, believes political analyst Enver Kazaz.
The European path is useful for us, but the idea of an ‘Open Balkan’ is also useful for us. In this context, the Balkans, which are a small economy, should be viewed, according to Vlade Simović, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences.
“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the entire region, a series of political conflicts and their radicalism – precisely the consequence of the fact that we have an absence of economic cooperation that would certainly level and settle, to a large extent, the political elite,” says Simović.
The ‘Open Balkans’ initiative was launched in 2019 by the prime ministers of Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia. Its goal is better regional cooperation, free flow of goods and people between member states, which was supported by the European Union and the United States of America.
