According to the Action Plan for the Establishment of the Regional Market, next year on the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Northern Macedonia and Kosovo, “green corridors” should be established, which will initially perishable goods such as fruits, vegetables, meat and processed products to allow faster border crossing and customs clearance of goods at any time of the day or night seven days a week.
Also, six countries in the Western Balkans region should agree on border crossings where procedures will be significantly reduced, and in the period from 2021 to 2022, regulate a system that will enable citizens of all countries to travel to other countries only with an ID card.
From 2022, a system should be established that will initially enable the recognition of diplomas for nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, architects and veterinary surgeons, and later all other diplomas.
Between 2022 and 2024, a regulatory framework for the single payment system should be established, and in 2023, cooperation between public procurement bodies should be established and a system should be established to enable certificates, including those veterinary, recognized in all countries as well as at borders, Buka writes.
“Everything is possible, but it will mostly depend on the customs, which are still in some old system and do not agree to changes. There have been attempts before, but they are always slowing down and something they need ten days to do and adjust. They are not ready to speed up the procedures due to corruption or other things, “said Nemanja Vasic, vice president of the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He emphasizes that the deadlines set by the action plan are quite realistic because the European Union, which will probably insist on that, stood behind those deadlines in a certain way, and on the other hand, all policies in all countries are in favor of establishing a single market.
According to the Action Plan, there should be a single market in the region in 2024, and in that year the countries should reach 95% of households in all countries with broadband internet, and by the end of 2023 the main industrial network should be covered by 5G network cities in Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Macedonia.
The abolition of work permits for intra-company transfers, the portability of social rights, the mobility of students, researchers and professors, and the development of joint packages of the tourist offer and its advertising are only part of what is stated in the Action Plan.
However, as they emphasize in the Foreign Trade Chamber of BiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina should look for its chance in agriculture, which is the most developed in BiH after Serbia.
“In order to integrate the Western Balkans into the pan-European digital space, the region must remove barriers to e-commerce and introduce mutual recognition of electronic signatures across the Western Balkans, and upgrade the digital infrastructure,” the Action Plan recently adopted at the summit in Sofia stated.
