The warning of the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, about merging the ideas of the Open Balkans initiative in the Berlin Process would be welcomed by many circles in the European Union. So far, Rama has only expressed in the media that the Open Balkans "has completed its mission" and that the ideas of this initiative will be carried over to the Berlin Process. In the EU there have been no official reactions about this warning, but, unofficially, some European diplomats say to Radio Free Europe that "this would be welcomed" and that "it would be a great relief for strengthening the Berlin Process and the processes others". The Open Balkans initiative, which was initially called Mini Schengen, was undertaken on October 10, 2019, in Novi Sad, and was signed by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama and the then Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev.

The initiative has been opposed by the opposition in Albania and has been rejected by Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In its framework, several agreements have been reached, such as for economic cooperation and free movement.

Regarding Rama's warning about its extinction, Vucic said that "he cannot believe that he [Rama] said such a thing". There was no reaction in North Macedonia. Formally, it has not expressed its opposition, because, in principle, it supports any initiative aimed at strengthening regional cooperation. But, on the other hand, many circles in the EU have seen it as a duplication of existing processes, such as: the Common Regional Market, the Berlin Process, the Regional Cooperation Council, the Free Trade Agreement - CEFTA and others.

When asked if they support the Open Balkans initiative, the EU has always responded by saying that they "support any initiative for regional cooperation, which is comprehensive" and which includes "all six partners from the Western Balkans region". Considering that in the Open Balkan initiative, even after several years, there are only three member countries left: Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia, it cannot be said that it is comprehensive.

Therefore, many diplomats in the EU, unofficially, have expressed the position that this initiative does not have full support. Instead, the EU has called for the countries of the region to focus on the Berlin Process, even though that process is not formally part of the institutional action of the European Union.

The Open Balkans initiative, meanwhile, has been supported by countries such as the United States of America, Turkey and Hungary, which have also sent their officials to its meetings. Even the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, has spoken at several meetings of the Open Balkans. On the other hand, the Berlin Process has gained full support from the six countries of the Western Balkan region, as well as international support.

The aim of this intergovernmental initiative is to connect the countries of the Western Balkans and the European Union and help them build mutual relations on the basis of European values. The EU has been very active in supporting this process, being ready to co-finance some projects.

The Berlin process includes all six countries of the Western Balkans region, qualifying them all as states, unlike some other processes, where the EU or the countries of the region have the main role and where - because of Kosovo, which is not recognized from Serbia and Bosnia - they are called "partners" or "the six of the Western Balkans". The Berlin process is a German initiative, supported by many other EU countries, such as: Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Poland and Greece. Even though it is no longer a member of the EU, Great Britain continues to be part of the process.

All these countries have expressed their willingness to contribute to help the Western Balkan countries in their efforts to develop and approach EU standards. The leaders of the European Union institutions, including the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, have also participated in the summits of the Berlin Process. The Berlin process started as an idea of ​​the former German chancellor, Angela Merkel. But her successor, Olaf Scholz, has decided to keep this process as a priority. He was the host and organizer of a summit, where several key agreements were signed between the six countries of the Western Balkans.

The declarations of the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, who will also be the host of the next summit of the Berlin Process, are seen by many diplomats in the EU as an opportunity for an "honest way out". According to them, the three countries of the Open Balkans will be able to say that this idea "was not in vain" and that it "will prosper the Berlin Process". In the meantime, as the diplomats say, the pressure on Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina to join a process, which they have not joined so far, will also be removed.

In Kosovo, all governments have been against the Open Balkans, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina there have been internal disagreements, due to which the country has not been able to join. The previous government of Montenegro has been against it, while the winners of the June elections have expressed their willingness to consider participating in the Open Balkans. However, even in Montenegro this issue has created divisions in the internal political spectrum./rel