Roundtable Leaders' discussion - Panel I: State of Play and Future Plans – New Growth Plan

European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi in Montenegro

Thank you very much Prime Minister,

Dear President, Dear Prime Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

After only two months we are here again to make not only a strong political commitment to our shared agenda, but to register, first of all, that the Growth Plan is no longer a draft. It is a reality, a reality that we already have started implementing.

It seems that the region not only feels this new geopolitical momentum, but also understands and starts to deliver on it. The sense of urgency I think is very high and so is the motivation to deliver everything that we have decided together on the ground to bring the Western Balkans, also in real terms, as fast as we can up to the level of convergence with the European Union, because the plan provides a very serious offer for the entire region.

This is why I am very happy to hear that the Balkan - for once - is optimistic, of course, with the usual tones and rhythm. But the undertone is an optimistic one, not something that you hear many times. And I think that it is clear that the offer the EU has put on the table should lead us in our next institutional cycle to where actual enlargement will take place.

So, the next European Commission should be an Enlargement Commission, an Enlargement Commission that will see by the end of this mandate, new members entering. And I am quite sure that with everything we have done together under this mandate, lastly, with the Growth Plan, the Western Balkans will be part of that enlargement. Because if you look at what we have put on the table together, the new methodology, the Economic and Investment Plan, the Growth Plan, what you see is, I hope, an irreversible set of tools that leads us to enlargement.

Just to give you one element, with all the tools we have in place, by 2027 the Western Balkans will be receiving the same or comparable level of aid intensity as our current Cohesion and Structural Funds beneficiary Member States. That means that they will reach 90%, nine zero percentage points of eight intensity of the 13 Cohesion and Structural Funds countries by the end of this multiannual financial period which runs out at 2027.

So, there will be no excuse. If I may use a bit of a Balkan terminology, as I'm also from around here. There would be no more excuse for the Western Balkans not to be ready by 2027 to join the European Union.

Of course, for this to happen we need also to work on the ground because this is the grand design, as I explained. But the grand design does not work if it is not implemented down to the wire and on the ground fully.

Because what we are proposing with the plan is not only a plan to integrate the Western Balkans into the European Union, but also this region to integrate within itself. We not only want to bring closer and into the European Union each and every partner in the Western Balkans, but also, we want you to use the opportunity that your common EU membership will provide even before you join the European Union. And I think this is not only a political idea, but I think it is also a business and an economic reality, that everyone has on its mind.

Because the offer we make means that you can also integrate yourselves into European markets one by one, sector by sector, where you are prepared and where you are ready to apply the same rules.

The first one is going to be the SEPA, mentioned by many of you. Three of you have already made applications. I hope to see all of you including it, so that the 1st of January next year will mark the fact that the whole of the Western Balkans is part and parcel of the single euro payment area, meaning at least half a billion EUR of cost saving for businesses and citizens every year, every year. Not to mention the huge economic potential it might have for your investors climate.

The second one which we discussed also in Tirana, which is advancing well, is the Green Lanes. We see that the 11 border crossing points have been identified, we are allocating the funds to build these border crossings so that we can from next year see a completely different reality. Because only by this weekend we use on average at least three hours of waiting time or for every truck. This means a saving or at least two percentage points of the costs of all your exports and imports. It's a huge cost.

Then of course, we are also making progress on the digital part of our agenda, the Wi-Fi4WB, which is something that we are rolling out gradually everywhere.

But dear friends, of course there are other areas, new areas, that is emerging now from the region. To me this confirms the ownership of the region of the Growth Plan and in that, President Vucic already mentioned, the Agreements and Conformity Assessment and Acceptance. Basically, this is the tool through which is not only going provide access to the markets custom free - which we have under the association agreements anyhow - but it means immediate access to the Single Market without any further conditions.

This means, for example, in Kotor, I understand, they are producing car parts. Those car parts will enter the European market as European products. Most of these companies are European companies anyhow, so it should not be such a tremendously big task to apply the same rules here that we apply back home. And this will also mean that new sectors of the industries will be looking at you for potential investments. This means growth and jobs directly, no matter how administrative the wording looks, in effect this is what it will do.

The other element that was mentioned is the Critical Medicines Alliance. We are very happy to see the inauguration. Although not all of you are part of it. I guess it would be a more than necessary for all of you to be part of it. We have seen already one pandemic and we cannot exclude another one. So, if you want to ensure the continued supply of critical medicines, this Alliance is a must have. And this Alliance will also link you up with the European medical medicine markets, which will provide you the security of supply for long term.

Then we are also working on another one, the digital identity wallet. Again, this is something through which you can access much easier markets, for example electronic public procurement markets in the European Union, or you can use it also in financial transactions; it will cut your costs back even further.

But all this is very nice as you benefit from the EU markets, but it will not make you attractive enough if you do it alone. It will make you only attractive if you do it also within the region. Meaning, the cost of sending money between, for example, Belgrade and Tirana is going to be the same as sending money between Berlin and Paris. It will however only give you the boost of economic convergence and real integration if you also integrate yourselves within the Balkans. This is why it is as equally important to work on the common regional markets, as it is for the early integration into the into the EU markets.

Therefore, it is high time to get over all the – how should I put it - well established and traditional disagreements for example related to the CEFTA and make a move because the region is missing an opportunity. The region will not be able to or benefit from all this if we continue with the old disagreements. I think that this frame offers pragmatic solutions also to overcome those difficulties. And as I said many-many times, but I don't want to refer to myself, is that this region, on its own, could add 1/3 of GDP to it. It's in your hands to do it. So, I think there is no better timing to do it than now.

And finally, finally, the good news is that the Growth Plan is not only alive and kicking, but I think that it will be quite remarkable that we can have the Reform Agendas agreed or within a matter of days with you; something, for example, took much longer with our own Member States, just to put a foot up to it. And look at the level of commitment that we see emerging from these Reform Agendas. I was told by our Director General that I should really put on my magnifying glasses because we have not seen this with our own Member States.

So, the level of commitment for reforms is a testament to the commitment of the region. And this is something I think that our Member States would also appreciate when they look at it, because they will look at it.

So, it means that within weeks these plans are going to be already implemented. It also means that if this goes well, then we can have the first payments still before the summer break.

Thank you very much!