Skopje, 21 December 2021 (MIA) – When the EU fails, we have to constantly take initiatives aimed at Europeanisation of the region. We’re taking major steps for Europeanisation. While creating the Open Balkan vision together with Vucic and Rama, we agreed that Euro-skepticism shouldn’t prevail due to EU’s failure, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told a news conference in Tirana after Tuesday’s Open Balkan meeting. Brussels, he said, could decide to stall the expectations, but European standards should not have to wait or be stalled in Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia. “We’d like to underline that Open Balkan is not a replacement for EU membership, it should be considered a booster of the European idea in the Balkans. The three countries remain committed to their agendas and commitment to join the EU,” noted Zaev. The PM said that the Open Balkan regional cooperation initiative has been vocally supported by the business communities and chambers of commerce of the three countries, concurring that it is a platform the region needs. “It is a huge honor and pleasure on the last day as prime minister of North Macedonia to once again participate and contribute to fulfilling the Open Balkan initiative. Launching the project, my colleagues, friends and brothers, Vucic and Rama and I said that it is a joint project created to benefit the whole region and is open for all other countries in the region,” said Zaev, repeating that all other countries are openly invited to join. “We will all agree that three is better than one, but six is far better than three,” said Zaev adding the idea is the Western Balkans to stay an open region producing concrete benefits for the people. He said that an agreement on interconnection of schemes for e-identification of the citizens in the Western Balkans and an agreement on free access to the Western Balkan labor market were signed. “Under these agreements, we allow the citizens of North Macedonia an access to e-services of the national portals of the three countries through e-identification, which paves the way toward access to the labor market,” Zaev stated. The agreements on free access on the labor market in the Western Balkans following the EU example, he said, is a step towards embracing EU values and practices. “We are introducing something that is an established practice in the EU based on a joint agreement of its members,” the outgoing PM said. Zaev, who is expected to step down on Wednesday, called on Vucic and Rama “to keep developing” the Open Balkan initiative. He said that his successor Dimitar Kovachevski will be equally committed to the process that contributes to “close cooperation in the region as we share the same values.” https://youtu.be/x34yG8eqXRI