PM Spajić participates in the 10th Berlin Process Summit

Spajić: The Berlin Process connects the region and the EU at the highest level, the Common Regional Market brings Western Balkans citizens closer to EU standards

The Western Balkans, through the Growth Plan and the new Common Regional Market Action Plan 2025-2028, are presented with an opportunity for accelerated economic development that will significantly improve the standard of living for citizens—this was the key message from the Summit marking the 10th anniversary of the Berlin Process.

Montenegro’s Prime Minister, Milojko Spajić, along with leaders of other Western Balkan countries and in cooperation with EU member states, delivered a strong message of commitment to regional cooperation and reaffirmed their efforts towards the region's integration into the European Union.

_{Copyright© Presse - und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung/Photographer Sandra Steins}

During the Berlin meeting, hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and with the participation of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Declaration on Common Regional Market was adopted.

This Declaration paves the way for the development of the economies in the region by reducing waiting times at borders and significantly speeding up the transit of goods, services, people, and capital between countries. Prime Minister Spajić highlighted that, for too long, this has been a significant barrier preventing the Western Balkans from becoming a competitive market.

We expect that this level of commitment will guide our regional cooperation and serve as a crucial driver for the accelerated European integration of the Western Balkans, Prime Minister Spajić emphasised during the summit.

We believe that the new Common Regional Market Action Plan, as an integral part of the Growth Plan, will act as a powerful catalyst to reduce the socio-economic gap between the region and the European Union. It will stimulate regional economic development and foster economic integration, he added.

The summit also offered an opportunity for EU officials and member states to express their readiness for increased support and encouragement for the upcoming, and in Montenegro’s case, final phase of EU accession.

We plan to close several chapters in the negotiations with Montenegro by the end of the year, during our EU presidency, announced Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Montenegro is leading the way in meeting the requirements of the Berlin Process, having already ratified four agreements on mobility. The fifth agreement—on access to higher education and the enrollment of students from the Western Balkans, adopted at the Berlin Summit—is expected to be ratified shortly.

Green transition and infrastructure connectivity: An opportunity for the Western Balkans

Regional cooperation and connectivity remain essential for Montenegro, particularly in line with European principles and in areas such as infrastructure development, the green transition, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels, emphasised Prime Minister Spajić.

In this context, the Berlin Process’s commitment to reaffirming the Hamburg Declaration on the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, supported by regional leaders, as well as nine process members—Germany, Austria, France, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Poland, and Slovenia—alongside EU institutions and the United Kingdom, is of critical importance.

Pursuing these goals without a regional context would be a dead-end path and a waste of valuable resources. Only through the perspective of increasing demand for better connectivity, clean and secure energy, and a green economy can we offer profitable and sustainable projects to credible investors. Therefore, we must improve transportation links, remove mobility barriers, encourage regional trade, and thus create the preconditions for political, economic, and social convergence of the region with the rest of the continent, Prime Minister Spajić stressed.

Ahead of the high-level summit, numerous ministerial meetings were held, with state leaders endorsing decisions on adopting the Declaration on Research and Innovation Infrastructure Access and Collaboration, Regional FDI Screening Standards of the Western Balkans Six, and the Declaration on Good Neighbourly Relations.

During the summit discussions, Prime Minister Spajić highlighted the integration of the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Centre (WB3C) into the Berlin Process as a matter of special importance for the work and activities of this centre, headquartered in Podgorica. The promotion and positioning of WB3C at the regional and international levels will serve as a basis for strengthening cooperation and building regional resilience to cyber threats.

The Berlin Summit saw participation from key officials, including the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi; EU Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Miroslav Lajčák; Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenković; President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar; Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani; France’s Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Benjamin Haddad; Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock; German Federal Government Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Manuel Sarrazin; UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, Lord Stuart Peach; EBRD President, Odile Renaud-Basso; Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu; and Acting Director of the CEFTA Secretariat, Danijela Gačević, among others.