Skopje, 14 November 2022 (MIA) – Open Balkan and the Berlin Process are not at all contradictory, but on the contrary, they are two compatible processes because the countries that are a part of the Berlin Process are also a part of Open Balkan, which is based on the four freedoms of the EU, said Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski on Monday. “If you examine the agreements which we signed at the Berlin Process you will see they are identical to the ones our three countries have already signed and ratified. The Berlin Process is irreversible, it is a process that leads towards a full integration of the Western Balkans to the European common market. The foundations of the Open Balkan initiative are the four freedoms of the European Union. An additional indicator of the progress Albania and North Macedonia have achieved in their development, especially regarding the establishment of safety, security, stability, political relations with the neighbors is the fact that the next Western Balkan summit will be held precisely in Tirana, while the Berlin Process agreements will be deposited in North Macedonia, at the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” emphasized PM Kovachevski in response to a reporter’s question whether it is worth it to continue the Open Balkan process, which is made up of three of the six Western Balkan countries that are a part of the Berlin Process. Albanian Prime Minister Rama stressed that it is worth it to continue with the Open Balkan initiative, which, he said, is a life-long process, and compared the two processes to a locomotive and wagons. “It makes it even more worth it because it changes the position of the locomotive in relation to the wagons. The Berlin Process is a locomotive which carries the leaders of the region on a new journey. In the end, of course, that locomotive changes the relations slightly, but the process moves forward and we have nothing to expect in terms of what we have already done, which the Berlin Process only reinforces. I think that the Berlin Process is open but it is not a life-long process, whereas Open Balkan is. I think it will last longer. Still, we should keep this in mind,” said PM Edi Rama. ad/nn/