Gjeloshaj: A more integrated regional market brings more investment opportunities

Photo: Ministry of Economic Development / Ministarstvo ekonomskog razvoja

Montenegro’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy and Minister of Economic Development, Nik Gjeloshaj, said that a more integrated regional market means fewer obstacles, more predictable procedures, easier movement of goods, services and people, and more opportunities for investment.

He hosted the ministerial meeting held as part of Montenegro’s chairmanship of the Berlin Process for 2026, attended by the ministers responsible for economy and trade from the six Western Balkan countries, senior representatives of Berlin Process member countries, the European Union and regional organisations.

Gjeloshaj stressed that over the last 12 years the Berlin Process has contributed to greater economic and institutional links between the region and the EU, mentioning the abolition of roaming, green corridors, SEPA, agreements facilitating movement and digital tools that ease trade.

According to him, regional cooperation and European integration are part of the same process, while a more integrated Western Balkans is not an alternative to EU integration, but part of the path towards it.

The meeting also discussed concrete steps to strengthen economic cooperation, remove barriers for businesses, increase competitiveness, attract investment and gradually bring the region’s economies closer to the European Union’s Single Market.