Skopje, 9 August 2022 (MIA) – Open Balkan will provide North Macedonia with workforce for areas which are experiencing labour shortages, and the free labour market will bring bigger wages and investments in each of the three countries, said the Government, ahead of the opening of the single labour market as part of the Open Balkan initiative. The Government on Tuesday pointed out that Open Balkan is a chance to increase the competitiveness of the region, but also that increased supply attracts new investments which is a key goal of the Agreement on Free Access to the Labour Market. Mobility is an important aspect for the development of the economy, and from that aspect, they said, we should be aware that there are areas, such as tourism, in which labour will flow into the country from Albania and Serbia, and of course we will have examples of the reverse. “This project brings a competition of quality, but also increase in wages, new opportunities and exchange of experiences. Complementary to this measure is the initiative to establish a joint agency of the three Open Balkan countries for attracting foreign investments, because with a market of 12 million citizens we will become more attractive for larger investments. For the kind of investments that seek a greater market, the basic prerequisite is the regional mobility of the workforce,” said the Government. It noted that the Free Access Agreement is only valid for the private sector, therefore the fears of alleged loss of medical staff from the country are unfounded. Bearing in mind that the implementation of the project is expected to start at the beginning of fall and that such mobility existed before the agreement as well, the Government said that there should not be speculations with sensationalist figures and quotas which are not supported by any analyses. “We believe in our potential and quality. The regional support enables growth and development of the economy. Labour exchange between the three countries existed even before this agreement, but now thanks to Open Balkan, the businesses will not suffer and face bureaucratic procedures that used to push the private sector into the grey economy. Removing these bureaucratic procedures such as legal earnings, paying taxes, insurance etc. will increase economic growth,” the Government said. The Agreement on Conditions for Free Access to the Labour Market in the Western Balkan is one of the five agreements signed in December at the Open Balkan Summit, by the leaders of the three countries, former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. The agreement will allow the citizens of the three countries to freely move and work within the territories of the signatory countries. The provisions of the agreement simplify the procedures for equal access to the labour market in the region following the example of the EU, which, as was pointed out at the signing of the agreement, is a step closer to accepting the values and practices of the European Union. ad/ba/