May 13 (SeeNews) - The Western Balkans should focus on enhancing the regional cooperation as it has the potential to improve the lives of citizens faster than the EU integration can, the secretary general of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Majlinda Bregu, has said.
"We cannot keep telling to people what is going to happen in 20 years but it is quite good to tell them why real positive changes are happening in their life," Bregu said during a panel discussion in the framework of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) Annual Meeting & Business Forum in Sarajevo last week.
The exports of the countries of the Western Balkans have increased 142% in the past 10 years with Europe their main destination, Bregu said, adding that the money invested in the region will improve connectivity, infrastructure and people-to-people connections.
According to the latest edition of the Western Balkans barometer that will be published soon, 56% of citizens believe that the European integration has shaped their lives for the better, but 70% think that regional cooperation will do it faster, Bregu said.
"Everyone wishes to see more speed in the EU integration process, that the Western Balkans had a very clear perspective, but I think that it is not a matter of dates. You cannot give a date for a transformation process."
For the first time the Western Balkans governments demonstrated a political will to improve regional cooperation through the agreement for the reduction and subsequent abolishment of roaming fees in the region, she noted.
In February 2018, the European Commission adopted a strategy for supporting the EU integration of the Western Balkans, focusing on the need for fundamental reforms and good neighbourly relations. The strategy document explains the steps that need to be taken by Montenegro and Serbia to complete the accession process with a 2025 perspective, the only two countries with which accession talks are already underway.