National Economy Minister Marton Nagy took part in the Western Balkans Business Conference within the Berlin Process on Tuesday, the Ministry of National Economy (NGM) told MTI. The conference's main topics included deepening regional cooperation in the Western Balkans, the integration of the region's countries into the European Union, and the role of green energy and digitalization in these processes.
The ministry highlights in the announcement that in the recovery period 2021-2023 after the coronavirus pandemic, the economic growth rate of the Western Balkan countries averaged 5.3 percent, and the average GDP of the Western Balkan countries this year was 3.2 percent. In the period 2025-2029, it may increase by 3.5 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund's forecast.
This expansion is faster than the expected growth rate for the global economy as a whole of 3.1 percent, and significantly outpaces the average GDP growth for the euro area, estimated at 1.3 percent.
There will be no leap in the competitiveness of the European Union without the accession of the Western Balkan countries.
“It is also in the interest of Hungary and the EU that the Western Balkan countries join the community as soon as possible, because it can give new impetus to the EU economy, which could be a potential way to save European competitiveness,” Nagy pointed out, noting that Europe must become more competitive if it does not want to fall behind its global competitors.
In addition to supporting the accession of the Western Balkans to the EU, a new agreement on competitiveness is currently being prepared under the Hungarian Presidency, which is due to be presented in October. According to the Hungarian government, it is necessary to strive for economic neutrality, to strengthen the nature of the economy’s meeting point, where Western and Eastern capital and technology are linked, so they see the key to competitiveness as maintaining connectivity, creating a broad network of strategic partnerships, which can make the EU stronger.
A number of high-profile projects in the Berlin process are a positive example of this, and in addition, the development of highways, railways or the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor is particularly beneficial for our country.
– The Minister added, believing that in order to deepen regional cooperation, it is necessary to provide broad support for these developments, which is mutually beneficial for the European Union and the countries of the region.
The Prime Minister stressed that Hungary is one of the most important gateways for the Western Balkan countries to join the European Union. The government fully supports the EU accession ambitions, because there will be no leap in the competitiveness of the EU without economic growth and the accession of the Western Balkan countries.
The Berlin Process was established in 2014 as a platform to promote cooperation between the six Western Balkan countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo) and the host countries of the Berlin Process, as well as the member states of the European Union. NGM wrote that during the ten years of its existence, the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) has approved 24 priority projects with a total value of around EUR 3.4 billion.
