Open Balkan Initiative

Multilateral in force

INTRODUCTION

The Open Balkan initiative, initially called "Mini-Schengen", has evolved into a regional partnership among three Western Balkan countries: Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia. As the European enlargement process has stalled, leaders in the western Balkans face difficulties in fulfilling the European future commitments promised to their citizens. In 2019, the leaders of the three countries adopted the Novi Sad Declaration, which announced the establishment of a common regional market, similar to that of the EU, to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people (based on the so-called EU four freedoms).

The Open Balkan Initiative is open to accession for other countries in the region that have, however, been reluctant to join for different reasons. The lack of political consensus on borders is primarily linked to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, as their ultimate political goal is to join the EU common market rather than a regional market. In contrast, Kosovo does not view the initiative favourably because Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina do not recognise its statehood.

This initiative differs from the Common Regional Market (CMR) for the Western Balkans. The Open Balkan is primarily a regionally owned initiative that reflects the political will of the leaders of the Western Balkans, and it is not a precondition set by the EU for joining the EU single market, unlike the CMR or any post-war reconciliation effort initiatives. Furthermore, the initiative is designed to create greater opportunities for student exchanges to strengthen cultural ties. Its goals also aim to reduce time at border crossings by allowing citizens of Albania, Serbia, and North Macedonia to travel using just an ID card, and by establishing green lanes for trucks—aimed at facilitating the movement of goods and capital between these countries. Border crossing time is estimated to exceed 30 million hours, and at least $1.5 billion could be saved by crossing the borders of these three countries each year. Furthermore, it has been agreed that mutual acceptance of diplomas and job qualifications among the three countries will make workforces more flexible and available, thereby attracting more investment. Lastly, the three countries have agreed to cooperate in disaster protection, and evidence of this cooperation has already emerged during the summer wildfire season.

While the Open Balkan initiative has suffered from setbacks, the Agreement on conditions for free access to the labour market in the Western Balkans, adopted on 21 December 2021, and which entered into force on 1 March 2024 constitutes a free movement regime since, under Article 1, it allows citizens to move, stay and work freely in the other State parties. Citizens willing to make use of this entitlement need to register both personal and other data in the relevant portal for the destination country, either before entering or within the first 90 days of stay in the host state, in line with the Agreement on interconnection of schemes for electronic identification of the citizens of the Western Balkans. The Freemove Project does not deal with implementation. However, according to some sources, the regime is working in practice.

Although our coding starts on January 1 each year, we’ve included an analysis of the Open Balkan Initiative for 2024 in the explore the data section. This is despite the relevant agreement coming into effect only on March 1, 2024, to ensure users can access it.

MEMBER STATES

ALBANIA
REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
SERBIA

DATE OF CREATION

11 October 2019

TIMELINE

2019	Adoption of Novi Sad Declaration on 11 October establishing the "Mini-Schengen" initiative (later renamed Open Balkan) by Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
2021	Adoption of the Agreement on conditions for free access to the labour market in the Western Balkans on 21 December.
2024	Entry into force of the Agreement on conditions for free access to the labour market in the Western Balkans on 1 March.
2024	Adoption of the Implementing Protocol to the Agreement on conditions for free access to the labour market in the Western Balkans on 22 January 2024.