Open Balkan

The Albania Institute of Statistics, INSTAT told BIRN that the number of Serbian citizens who entered Albania in 2021 doubled in comparison to 2020.

According to INSTAT's figures, in 2017, 63,785 Serbian citizens entered the country. This rose to 70,878 in 2018 and remained steady at 68,436 in 2019.

This morning, President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vui, spoke via video link with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Dimitar Kovaevski.

According to him, he has not yet decided whether he will go to the summit, and before making a decision, he will talk with the leaders of the Open Balkans, as well as with members of the Serbian Government.

The Open Balkans initiative members held another meeting last week in Ohrid, North Macedonia.

Representatives of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia signed another set of documents - an agreement on recognition of diplomas and three memoranda of understanding on various topics.

It's always a good idea to come to the fresh air and crystalline waters of Lake Ohrid, one of the most beautiful places in Europe.  Unfortunately, the reason for last week's gathering of leaders from the region - 'Open Balkan' - is not a good idea. In fact, it's not even a good name.

Albin Kurti expressed disdain on Thursday about an energy deal suggested by Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic in which lignite coal from Kosovo could be exchanged for electricity.

"This is an attempt by the authoritarian president of Serbia to move from the failed project of a territorial exchange to this one of a coal exchange," Kurti told media.

The summit is attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, prime ministers of North Macedonia and Albania, Dimitar Kovacevski and Edi Rama, as well as officials from Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
President Vucic said that he had meetings with representatives of countries that are not yet official members of the Open Balkans.

At the beginning, Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski addressed the audience, greeting all participants gathered, as citizens of the Western Balkans.

Vui said that he was convinced that it was the best initiative in the last few decades. He also mentioned that he does not want to deal with the issue who wants to join or not, and that it is a decision he leaves to others.

A two-day summit of the regional initiative Open Balkans begins today in Ohrid, to be attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Prime Ministers of North Macedonia and Albania Dimitar Kovacevski and Edi Rama, as well as officials from Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina.