Cadez: The EU Is Not Complete Without the Western Balkans

Marko Cadez (Beta/Milos Miskov)

Serbian Chamber of Commerce President Marko Cadez has said that he expects concrete solutions for the region's economy in 2020, adding that the May summit in Zagreb ought to define models of easier cooperation between the region and the EU.

"The application of those solutions may start during the German EU presidency, in the second half of this year," Cadez said in an interview with the Feb. 20 edition of the Magazin Biznis magazine. He further said that it was very important to start with tangible benefits, so that businesspeople may experience the advantages of the arranged solutions as soon as possible.

In his words, the Western Balkans Summit that will take place in early May in Zagreb is very important for Serbia, because it will put the region back in the spotlight for the EU, which has been burdened by internal problems over the last few years, above all by Brexit.

"It seemed as though this region has not been Brussels' priority and it's good that we're returning to that theme. The Western Balkans is a part of the European project. We are a part of the European economic system, more so than some EU members. The EU is the main foreign trade partner and the biggest investor in the region, our economies export to the EU the most, we are connected by production and supply chains, we are a part of that space," he said.

He went on to say that, for that reason, the Western Balkans should not be seen as the space in which the EU would enlarge, "but rather as the region that will complete the Union."

Cadez underscored that it was important for activities ahead of the Zagreb summit not to be reduced to a series of political messages on the European prospects of the Western Balkans, but rather to see what could actually be done for the overall economy and individual economies of the region.