European Commissioner Johannes Hahn told Balkan leaders on Monday that the speed of positive developments has been surprising, adding that a window of opportunity has opened despite some concerns.

“The speed of positive developments even surprised some and, as a result, everybody is now watching closely. If anything, the pressure to continue delivering has increased. On the EU side, you are facing a window of opportunity: a whole series of very proactive Council presidencies, as well as a fully engaged Brussels. This is not guaranteed eternally,” the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations told a meeting of the prime ministers of the region in the Albanian town of Durres.

Hahn said that EU membership requires more than reforms in rule of law. “We need a boost for growth, jobs and prosperity for the region along the path to membership: this will the decisive factor to convince both your own citizens, as well as those of today's EU, that our joint ambition of EU membership is win-win,” he added.  

Establishing a ‘single’ market of 18 million people is a game changer for untapped private investors looking for market opportunities and attracting the investment you need to become prosperous EU Member States, the EU commissioner said, He said that connectivity has to be improved for the sake of regional trade and singled out problems such as the energy Connectivity Reform Measures in some countries and called for simpler border crossing procedures.

Barriers to trade, business and investment still exist between the countries of the Western Balkans, Hahn warned. He expressed concern over trade. “We are completely stuck on trade in services for the whole region because we can't agree how some technical documents are labelled,” he said.

“I have all the understanding for the complications of the Dialogue, but this can't be holding hostage the economic development of the region,” the commissioner said. He said the countries of the region “must consider your neighbours more as partners than as competitors”.

According to him, the regional roaming agreement needs to be extended to cover all 6 of the Western Balkans countries as a precondition to reduce roaming costs between the EU and the Western Balkans.

The EU commissioner recalled that he has started sending monthly letters to all the prime ministers of the region, informing them exactly where we stand with individual commitments.