Screenshot

Comparison of the Open Balkan and Common Regional Market: What’s new for the regional economic integration in the Western Balkans?

byИнститут за европска политика

Regional cooperation in the Western Balkans (WB) is supported by the European Union (EU). The process has been perceived as a way to ease tensions and to support reconciliation in the region. The economic dimension of the WB cooperation has always been at the core of this process. The WB has enlarged and modernised the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) in 2006 enabling tariff free trade between the countries in the region. CEFTA was to prepare the countries for their future EU membership by facilitating regional market integration following EU Single Market acquis. Nonetheless, numerous barriers remain between the WB markets. The European Commission (EC) considers that none of the countries in the WB is a functioning market economy nor is ready to cope with the competitive pressure and market forces in the EU.

The slow pace in reforms and enlargement fatigue has brought the EU accession process for these countries to a standstill. However, two initiatives have been up and running that fill in that void: The Common Regional Market (CRM) as a successor of Regional Economic Area (REA) on one side, and the Open Balkan (OB) on the other. Both initiatives seek to further integrate markets through liberalisation and policy coordination, rebooting reforms, and accelerating regional integration in the WB as ways to prepare the countries for EU membership. A major difference between the initiatives is the local support and participation – all Western Balkan countries (WB6) have committed to participate in both REA and CRM, while only Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia are part of the OB.

The premise that “every regional integration initiative is a good initiative” has kept both processes going. This approach has not been challenged so far. The need to have them both run in parallel for a region as small as the WB is questionable. In this brief we address several concerns and we compare both agendas and assess how different the Open Balkan is from the REA/CRM and look at the originality it brings. Furthermore, we provide a look at the advantages and deficiencies in their implementation compared to one another, and the implications of having both initiatives being run in tandem. Lastly, we highlight the limitations of the regional integration initiatives in addressing the underlining problems of the WB economies.

DOWNLOAD PDF

The post Comparison of the Open Balkan and Common Regional Market: What’s new for the regional economic integration in the Western Balkans? appeared first on EPI.

Продолжи со читање

  • Successful completion of the round table on green transtion and CBAM

    At the roundtable “Enhancing Competitiveness: The Energy Transition, CBAM and the Future of Macedonian Industry,” Finance Think presented the study “Readiness for CBAM and the Green Industrial Transition in North Macedonia.” 🔗 https://shorturl.at/CWIXg 📊 The study shows that North Macedonia is at a critical juncture of energy and industrial transformation. In 2025, exports covered by […]
    The post Successful completion of the round table on green transtion and CBAM first appeared on Finance Think.
    The post Successful completion of the round table on green transtion and CBAM appeared first on Finance Think.

  • Nearly half of government promises show progress, but sectoral gaps remain large

    KOMPAS: Monitoring of Government Promises (2024-2028) : findings from the first two years Skopje, 1 7 June 202 6 Finance Think, in partnership with the Macedonian Center for Civic Education, the Macedonian Medical Association – Association for Intersectoral Cooperation and the Youth Educational Forum, presents the upgraded KOMPAS monitoring framework for systematic monitoring of the […]
    The post Nearly half of government promises show progress, but sectoral gaps remain large first appeared on Finance Think.
    The post Nearly half of government promises show progress, but sectoral gaps remain large appeared first on Finance Think.

  • New position paper calls for the inclusion of the Western Balkans in the EU Democracy Shield

    The Anti-Disinformation Network for the Balkans (ADN-Balkans) has published the position paper “Bringing the Western Balkans into the EU Democracy Shield and the EDMO Ecosystem,” calling on the European Commission and the EEAS to formally include the Western Balkans Six in the operational architecture of the European Democracy Shield and to establish a structured pathway […]

  • The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Enters into Application: A Test for Europe and a Signal for the Western Balkans

    On 12 June 2026, the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum enters into application, marking the beginning of a new phase in European migration governance. Following years of negotiations and legislative reforms, attention now shifts from adopting new rules to testing how they will function […]
    The post The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Enters into Application: A Test for Europe and a Signal for the Western Balkans appeared first on Myla.

  • Strengthening Regional Connections for Digital Innovation: Participation in Moldova Digital Summit 2026

    As part of the Regional Support Mechanism EECA, implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation and TechSoup, in partnership with CIVICUS and under the Digital Democracy Initiative (DDI) that covers the Global South, representatives from supported organizations continue to strengthen their capacities, expand regional networks, and foster innovative approaches to digital transformation. Through the participation of several […]