A question that has not stopped being topical since its appearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Open Balkans or the Berlin Process? The answer of BH politicians are not unique about this either. The Berlin process has not reached a consensus since its inception, and the Open Balkans initiative seems to have the same fate. Between these two tracks, the common market of Bosnia and Herzegovina will, by all accounts, still have to wait.
The Berlin process or the Open Balkans – another issue on which politicians from both entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina do not agree. We remind you that since 2014, our country has been part of the Berlin Process, together with five other countries of the Western Balkans, all with the aim of connecting with each other and improving the economy for faster accession to the European Union.
At the same time, politicians from the Republika Srpska are supporters of the Open Balkans initiative, which was joined by Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania. How BH politicians, as well as political analysts, have different views:
“It is not a hindrance and the countries would not be separated if they entered the Open Balkans. Perhaps it would be better if the European Union reached an agreement between itself and America about what the future of the Western Balkans is, because in essence those two processes can be harmonized,” political analyst Dušan Janjić believes.
“I didn’t see that the USA did not support the Berlin process and the Sofia agreement and all those declarations and statements from Brda kod Kranja. Why make a match between regional integrations now if it is already known which of those regional integrations has the signature of all six countries”, said Svetlana Cenić, an expert in economics.
Just because the Open Balkans initiative was not signed by all six countries, there is no need to talk about it further, Cenić believes. And the politicians from the RS want to join the Open Balkans, says Cenić, because that way they would be closer to Serbia. He adds that the President of the RS Milorad Dodik will therefore issue ultimatums to the coalition partners from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the state level.
“That’s what they said themselves in Ohrid when the Summit was held, that they would blackmail the coalition and breaking the coalition in order to enter the Open Balkans.”
Andrej Nikolaidis evaluates the Open Balkans initiative as a US political project, and understands the pressure faced by Bosnia and Herzegovina. He points out that it is very difficult to refuse the USA, because when they are told no, it can have big consequences.
“The pressure on Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the Open Balkans will grow and that is inevitable. As soon as Montenegro is annexed, and that will happen very soon, there are no political forces that can stop it, it is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s turn.”
Nikolaidis emphasizes that the entry of the countries of the Western Balkans into the Open Balkans is an obstacle to the Berlin process and that the EU is against the Open Balkans. Ultimately, projects and money are behind the Berlin Process, and Aleksandar Vučić is behind the Open Balkans. It is known that politicians from the Federation are against, and from the RS for entry. Those in the know claim that the Open Balkans will be a new and serious challenge for the partnership of the ruling parties.
