The Berlin Process and Regional Economic Integration – A Decade Since the Launch of the Ambitious Initiative - Antonela Dhimolea, March 2024

The Berlin Process emerged as a response to the slow progress of Western Balkan countries in meeting EU accession criteria, as well as the need for EU countries—especially Germany—to maintain focus on the European integration of the Western Balkans. However, not all EU member states joined the initiative. The participants include only 9 EU countries and the United Kingdom: Germany, Austria, France, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Croatia, and Poland (with other EU countries invited as guests at Summits and Ministerials); 6 Western Balkan countries; EU institutions – the European Commission (EC), the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the EU Presidency country; and regional organizations – RCC, CEFTA, SEETO, TCT, and RYCO.

The Berlin Process is not a fully regional format but a hybrid structure involving EU countries (the UK was still an EU member at its initiation) and the 6 Western Balkan countries, which are expected to implement EU directives. In addition to high-level government meetings (Summits and Ministerials), it also hosts meetings of civil society organizations (Civil Society Forum), youth organizations (Youth Forum), and business associations (Business Forum). Each Western Balkan country appoints a Sherpa—a political advisor to the Prime Minister—who acts as the National Coordinator for the Berlin Process. Summits are held annually by the country holding the rotating presidency. Past summits include: Berlin (2014), Vienna (2015), Paris (2016), Trieste (2017), London (2018), Poznań (2019), the virtual summit hosted by Bulgaria and North Macedonia (2020), Berlin (2021-2022), and Tirana (2023).

A novelty of the Process was the joint presidency between Bulgaria and North Macedonia in 2020. Despite bilateral issues, the two countries successfully concluded their presidency by launching the Common Regional Market (CRM). Albania’s presidency is considered successful and brought concrete results. Notably, for the first time, the Berlin Summit was held in a Western Balkan capital—Tirana.

The Berlin Process has three dimensions: political, economic, and social.

• The political dimension focuses on resolving bilateral disputes, reconciliation, and peaceful regional cooperation.

• The economic dimension aims at creating a Common Regional Market (CRM), improving access to the EU Single Market, attracting EU investment, and implementing the green agenda.

• The social dimension addresses human mobility, youth exchange, and employment.

The social and economic dimensions are linked to the connectivity agenda, which focuses on both human and economic exchanges. Within this agenda, the Process has promoted various agreements and projects in transport and infrastructure, economic cooperation, youth collaboration, and civil society partnerships in the Western Balkans.

The Process lacks a Secretariat, Statute, or formal procedural rules. The country holding the presidency organizes all Sherpa meetings, Ministerials, and Summits. Its unwritten protocol is aligned with the RCC’s and must be respected, especially due to Serbia’s stance on Kosovo's participation in regional organizations (using asterisks and footnotes per the 2012 Brussels Agreement).

As a result, country names are not placed on tables—only representative names appear. Mini flags are excluded, and Kosovo is marked with an asterisk and explanatory footnote. EU countries sit on one side of the table, Western Balkan countries on the other. This is also reflected in official group photos at summits and ministerials. At Serbia’s request, family photos have sometimes excluded flags altogether—as seen in Vienna, Poznań, and London. At the Tirana Ministerial (October 6, 2023), Serbia and Spain (guest under EU presidency) pushed for a no-flag photo, but Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock firmly rejected this. Consequently, Serbian FM Ivica Dačić abstained from the official family photo. This year, Germany holds the rotating presidency, and a special 10th anniversary summit will be organized in October, providing a detailed assessment of the process.

Regional Economic Cooperation and Key Mechanisms

Improving connectivity and trade within the Western Balkans and between the region and the EU remains a key priority, delivering tangible benefits to both economies and citizens. The region has made connectivity a major goal, focusing on financing concrete infrastructure projects and adopting technical standards and soft measures such as simplifying border procedures, rail reforms, information systems, road safety, and maintenance schemes.

Progress in this area has been supported not only by the Berlin Process but also by initiatives like:

• Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF)

• Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF)

• Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)

• Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)

• South East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO)

• Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO)

The Common Regional Market (CRM) was launched at the 2020 Berlin Summit, following the end of MAP-REA (2017–2020). It aims to further integrate the region economically and prepare it for entry into the EU Single Market. CRM focuses on:

1. Free movement of goods, services, capital, and people

2. Regional investment zone

3. Digital market zone

4. Innovation and industrial zone

The 2021–2024 regional integration agenda includes ambitious steps to accelerate digital transformation and align with the EU’s Digital Single Market. Three mobility agreements—facilitating mutual employment and free movement using ID cards—were signed at the 2022 Berlin Summit after a two-year blockage due to stalled Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. Though effective since June 2023, full ratification is pending; for example, Bosnia and Herzegovina has not ratified the ID movement agreement.

Implementation on the ground remains challenging due to regional instability and ongoing bilateral disputes. The mutual recognition agreement for nurses, veterinarians, pharmacists, and midwives, signed at the Tirana Summit (October 2023), has so far only been ratified by Montenegro.

The Green Corridors, created during the pandemic, facilitated the movement of goods and proved regional economic cooperation can work. Efforts are underway to extend these Green and Blue Corridors to EU countries—for instance, the Blue Corridor Italy–Albania–Montenegro and Green Corridors Greece–North Macedonia and Croatia–Montenegro–Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Regional Roaming Agreement (with zero tariffs) is operational throughout the region. The October 2023 implementation of the EU–Western Balkans Roaming Agreement marked another milestone, easing communications between the region and the EU.

RCC and CEFTA play key roles in CRM implementation, while SEETO remains central to transport infrastructure planning in cooperation with the European Commission.

EU Economic and Investment Plan (EIP)

The Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) aims to strengthen regional cooperation and foster economic convergence between the Western Balkans and the EU. At the 2021 Berlin Summit, leaders emphasized EIP’s alignment with CRM and the Green Agenda to deepen integration and facilitate structural transformation in the region.

The Pre-Accession Assistance Instrument (IPA III) will allocate €9 billion (2021–2027) to support this. The EU’s EIP aims to spur green and digital transitions while attracting public and private investments, supported by the Western Balkans Guarantee Facility, which could mobilize up to €20 billion.

Concrete investment support hinges on progress in reforms—particularly the rule of law and anti-corruption. The EC has announced a €3.2 billion investment package to support 21 infrastructure, energy, and digital projects in the region.

The EU’s goal is to mobilize €30 billion through grants, concessional loans, and guarantees, creating meaningful economic convergence.

The Green Agenda is a key tool to reduce pollution and preserve biodiversity. Germany has pledged to appoint a Special Commissioner for implementing the Green Agenda in the industrial and energy sectors. The Tirana Summit adopted a Regional Climate Partnership Declaration, aiming to fast-track the Green Agenda, especially in energy efficiency, renewables, sustainable cities, tourism, transport, and agriculture.

Germany has committed €1 billion in support, plus an additional €500 million in short-term promotional loans until 2030.

WBIF is a joint EU–Western Balkans platform supporting investment cooperation and integration efforts. The EU is backing projects like the regional electricity market and a solar photovoltaic project in North Macedonia to power both the region and EU grids.

Construction began in December 2022 on the strategic Corridor 8 segment between North Macedonia and Bulgaria (Kumanovo–Beljakovce–Kriva Palanka). Albania has also begun rehabilitating the Tirana–Durrës railway, along with other segments like Tirana–Airport, Durrës–Lin, and Lin–North Macedonia border.

The EU Plan for Western Balkans Development

On November 8, 2023, the European Commission approved a new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, designed to bring the region closer to the EU by offering some of the benefits of EU membership before accession, while promoting economic growth and socio-economic convergence.

The Plan considers economic convergence as a key element for bringing Western Balkan countries closer to the EU. It aims to double the size of the region's economies within 10 years and accelerate their EU membership preparations. The plan is expected to speed up the enlargement process while delivering direct benefits to citizens. To support this, the EU has proposed a new €6 billion financial instrument for 2024–2027.

The Growth Plan is structured around four key pillars:

1. Boosting economic integration with the EU Single Market, on the condition that Western Balkan countries align with EU rules and open relevant sectors to all neighbors, in line with CRM principles.

2. Fostering deeper regional integration within the Western Balkans through the Common Regional Market, based on EU rules and standards.

3. Accelerating fundamental reforms, including the rule of law, supporting EU integration, sustainable economic growth, attracting foreign investment, and ensuring regional stability.

4. Enhancing financial support through a new Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans (2024–2027), worth €6 billion (€2 billion in grants and €4 billion in concessional loans), with performance-based payments linked to specific socio-economic and fundamental reforms.

This Reform and Growth Facility complements the ongoing IPA III funding. Each Western Balkan partner will be invited to prepare a Reform Agenda based on existing recommendations, such as from the annual Enlargement Package and Economic Reform Programmes (ERP). These agendas will be consulted, assessed, and approved by the European Commission. Disbursements will occur twice a year, based on requests submitted by Western Balkan partners and verification of performance criteria including macro-financial stability, sound public finance management, and transparency.

If the required conditions are not met, the Commission may suspend or reduce payments. Countries will have 1–2 years to meet the conditions or else funds will be reallocated to others.

Achievements of the Berlin Process and Challenges to Regional Economic Integration

The Berlin Process emerged at a time when the EU was facing internal challenges and enlargement had stalled due to diverging member state positions and slow reform progress in the Western Balkans. The process was designed to encourage regional cooperation, address bilateral conflicts, and increase awareness and responsibility toward fulfilling EU accession criteria.

Despite ambitious plans, the Berlin Process has experienced a decade of partial success and persistent challenges in reaching its ultimate goal — accelerating the EU integration of Western Balkan countries.

Notable achievements over the past decade include:

• Establishment of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO)

• Creation of the Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum (WBCIF)

• Signing of the Transport Community Treaty (TCT)

• Launch of Green Corridors within the region and between the region and EU

• Regional Roaming Agreement (zero tariffs since July 1, 2021)

• EU–Western Balkans Roaming Tariff Reduction Agreement (in effect since October 1, 2023)

• Three mobility agreements: on ID-based travel, mutual recognition of university diplomas, and professional qualifications for doctors, dentists, architects, and engineers

At the successful Tirana Summit, the region also signed:

• A mutual recognition agreement for nurses, veterinary surgeons, pharmacists, and midwives, advancing professional mobility

• A Cybersecurity Initiative with headquarters in Montenegro

• Plans for a College of Europe campus in Tirana, supporting EU expertise across the region

• Commitments to research and innovation investment, and the development of Centers of Excellence

• Recognition of the importance of integrating with SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) for efficient, cost-effective, and secure cross-border payments

Despite these gains, full integration into the EU Single Market will only occur if the region achieves complete regional economic integration. The CRM is essential for overcoming fragmented markets, attracting investment, and retaining talent.

But has the Berlin Process succeeded in raising sufficient awareness of this “major step”?

Ongoing issues—such as the lack of dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo and regional instability—led to a two-year delay in the mobility agreements, and some have yet to be ratified or implemented. This lack of commitment has hampered CRM progress and the 2021–2024 Regional Integration Agenda.

Although the process was revitalized by Chancellor Scholz, resulting in several important agreements, the Berlin Process still falls short of achieving its ultimate goal: full integration of the Western Balkans into the EU Single Market.

To complement the Berlin Process (which now needs a new CRM Action Plan), the EU launched its New Growth Plan to circumvent CRM blockages caused by bilateral issues. According to this new plan, an uncommitted country can only block itself—not the others—and cannot prevent CRM progress. Countries that are not fully committed cannot expect to benefit from EU Single Market integration.

Each of the six Western Balkan countries will be invited to present individual Reform Agendas outlining the socio-economic and fundamental reforms they plan to implement between 2024 and 2027. The plan stipulates that Serbia and Kosovo must engage constructively in the EU-facilitated dialogue to normalize relations — a necessary precondition.

Half of the €6 billion fund (about €3 billion in long-term loans) will be disbursed as direct budget support, and the other half will be distributed through the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) in the form of €2 billion in grants and €1 billion in loans.

The New EU Growth Plan is expected to act as a strong financial and political catalyst for achieving the Berlin Process's ultimate goals. Given the current geopolitical context—Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Israel–Hamas conflict, and China’s economic rise—there is an urgent need for a resolute EU enlargement policy, not only for the Western Balkans but also for Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.

Successful implementation of the Growth Plan will demonstrate the EU’s serious commitment to integrating the Western Balkans and will contribute to building a stronger, more resilient, and united Europe.

ACRONYMS

• Western Balkans (WB)

• Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF)

• Western Balkans Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF)

• Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)

• Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)

• South East Europe Transport Observatory (SEETO)

• Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO)

• Transport Community Treaty (TCT)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Antonela Dhimolea is a career diplomat with the rank of Minister Counselor at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania.

The opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation or the organizations the authors work for.