The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic and the Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, seek the support of Germany for their initiative called "Open Balkans". 

The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published a text that Rama, Vucic and Zaev have compiled together to seek the support of the new government in Berlin.

"We hope that the new government in Germany will accept the Open Balkans initiative as a contribution to the full implementation of the Berlin Process," reads the text signed by the three heads of state. 

"Europe is not just a continent, but a vision. However, the citizens of the Western Balkans, who are an integral part of the continent and this vision, have been out for a long time. The desire of our people to be accepted by the EU members has been constantly denied by the domestic policies of the member states, not fulfilling their promises and fearing for the future. This has led to frustration, instability, emigration and a lack of large investments. As political leaders of these countries, we can either complain about it - or take action against it. We have decided on the latter ", it is said in the text published in FAZ. 

Rama, Vucic and Zaev tell the Bundestag that in November 2019 they signed an agreement for the inclusion of the Berlin Process, taking responsibility for, as it is said, the deepened cooperation in the region. 

"Our vision is to overcome the social, economic and trade barriers that hinder the economic growth of our region by implementing the four European freedoms in our countries. "That is why we have signed agreements that remove border controls so that goods can pass almost without delay and that enable our citizens to work without obstacles in another country," Rama, Vucic and Zaev wrote in the letter. 

According to the three leaders, the "Open Balkans" has proved effective and useful in overcoming the challenges of the pandemic. They write that the initiative is open to other Western Balkan countries as well. 

"Our initiative, which we call the Open Balkans, has proved effective and useful in overcoming the very difficult times of the pandemic. Although the Open Balkans Initiative so far includes only Serbia, Albania and Northern Macedonia, it is open to all Western Balkan countries. "We take this opportunity and once again invite all our neighbours to unite and offer their population the benefits we offer to our people," Rama, Vucic and Zaev appealed. 

The three leaders expressed hope that the new government in Germany would accept and support the Open Balkans initiative as a contribution to the full implementation of the Berlin Process. According to them, this initiative has already been supported by several heads of state and government. 

The signatories of the text end the request for support with this sentence: “Our initiative for the Open Balkans is a big step towards EU membership. The EU must be supported."