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TIRANA – The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated at the opening of the EU-Western Balkans investment forum in Tirana that the Western Balkans is “firmly on the path to membership in the European Union” and urged investors that it is the right time to invest in the region. Speaking before leaders and business representatives from the region, von der Leyen emphasized that the benefits of European integration are already felt in the daily lives of citizens, citing as an example the accession to the single payment system SEPA, which has reduced transaction costs by up to six times. “This is concrete progress, not just on paper but also in practice,” said the President of the European Commission.
She noted that countries that have already joined the European Union have experienced “incredible economic growth,” which is also expected for the Western Balkans. “Consider the recent waves of accession to our Union. The Polish economy has tripled in less than three decades. In Croatia, unemployment has fallen from 17 percent to four percent in just over a decade. The same will happen across the Western Balkans, and I am not talking about some distant future. Your economies are already ready for rapid growth in the coming years,” said Ursula von der Leyen. According to her, the goal of the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans is to double the GDP of this region in the next decade through the opening of European markets, regulatory integration, and investments in priority sectors. “That is why my message to investors today is simple. Do not let this opportunity pass you by. It is time to invest in the Western Balkans,” noted the President of the EC. At the forum in Tirana alone, ten business contracts were signed, and 24 new projects worth over four billion euros are being considered.
She noted that two regional hubs connected to the European network of centers that enable companies and startups to develop, train, and test artificial intelligence models using the European Union’s “supercomputers” will be established in Serbia and North Macedonia. In practice, this means that local firms could develop artificial intelligence-based solutions using EU infrastructure, without the need to do everything in Brussels, Berlin, or Paris. Ursula von der Leyen also highlighted the importance of the Western Balkans in producing ecological “clean energy,” stating that the region can become a hub for the production, storage, and sharing of such energy with the rest of Europe, as published on the European Commission’s website. “You are building a new energy backbone not only for the Western Balkans but for all of Europe,” she added. In addition, the President of the Commission emphasized the importance of integrating regional industries into European value chains – from batteries and pharmaceutical production to the textile recycling sector. “Investing in the Western Balkans means investing in a future European market of 500 million people,” concluded von der Leyen. (October 13)