Economic Implications of the Open Balkan initiative on macroeconomic relations and labor market developments in the Western Balkan countries. Challenges and Perspectives
Session
Management, Business and Economics
Description
The delayed European Union (EU, hereafter) enlargement agenda toward Western Balkan countries (WBC, hereafter) shaped the EU approximation path of some of the WB countries by exploiting alternative solution for regional integration. In this coherence, the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, on October 2019, decided to take destiny in their own hands by launching an idea for establishing a ‘’mini shengen’’ regional integration policy, which lately in July 2021, progressed into ‘’Open Balkan’’, covering mainly the unintegrated WB countries into EU, like Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo. Furthermore, Serbia, being potentially at the center of the geopolitical regional pole of the Open Balkans initiative, additionally increases the sensitivity of other Western Balkan countries, like Kosovo, for instance, for not entering into this regional structure, especially considering the open political dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, related mutual recognition. This policy-oriented paper will rely on a descriptive framework of the macroeconomic and labor market developments in the Western Balkan countries in-between WB countries and between the WB and EU countries. More specifically, labor market developments as well as trade and FDI links and developments in the remittances between the WB countries and EU countries, will be the focus of this study, shedding light on potential perspectives of the Open Balkan agreement with respect to enhancing labor mobility and economic ties between countries. Based on a backward looking perspective macroeconomic data, covering in principle the last 10 years, the paper finds out that economic ties on the grounds of FDI, Trade, Labor Market and remittances are more severe between WB and EU countries, rather than in between WB countries by itself, hence, making the initiative of the Open Balkan fragile on economic sense and imperfect substitute for EU integration agenda.
Keywords:
Open Balkan, EU integration, Western Balkan Countries.
Proceedings Editor
Edmond Hajrizi
ISBN
978-9951-550-50-5
Location
UBT Kampus, Lipjan
Start Date
29-10-2022 12:00 AM
End Date
30-10-2022 12:00 AM
DOI
10.33107/ubt-ic.2022.407
Recommended Citation
Dauti, Bardhyl and Matoshi, Ruzhdi, "Economic Implications of the Open Balkan initiative on macroeconomic relations and labor market developments in the Western Balkan countries. Challenges and Perspectives" (2022). UBT International Conference. 416.
https://knowledgecenter.ubt-uni.net/conference/2022/all-events/416
Economic Implications of the Open Balkan initiative on macroeconomic relations and labor market developments in the Western Balkan countries. Challenges and Perspectives
UBT Kampus, Lipjan
The delayed European Union (EU, hereafter) enlargement agenda toward Western Balkan countries (WBC, hereafter) shaped the EU approximation path of some of the WB countries by exploiting alternative solution for regional integration. In this coherence, the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, on October 2019, decided to take destiny in their own hands by launching an idea for establishing a ‘’mini shengen’’ regional integration policy, which lately in July 2021, progressed into ‘’Open Balkan’’, covering mainly the unintegrated WB countries into EU, like Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo. Furthermore, Serbia, being potentially at the center of the geopolitical regional pole of the Open Balkans initiative, additionally increases the sensitivity of other Western Balkan countries, like Kosovo, for instance, for not entering into this regional structure, especially considering the open political dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, related mutual recognition. This policy-oriented paper will rely on a descriptive framework of the macroeconomic and labor market developments in the Western Balkan countries in-between WB countries and between the WB and EU countries. More specifically, labor market developments as well as trade and FDI links and developments in the remittances between the WB countries and EU countries, will be the focus of this study, shedding light on potential perspectives of the Open Balkan agreement with respect to enhancing labor mobility and economic ties between countries. Based on a backward looking perspective macroeconomic data, covering in principle the last 10 years, the paper finds out that economic ties on the grounds of FDI, Trade, Labor Market and remittances are more severe between WB and EU countries, rather than in between WB countries by itself, hence, making the initiative of the Open Balkan fragile on economic sense and imperfect substitute for EU integration agenda.