User:Eminaba/sandbox

Common Regional Market is a regionally owned framework for deepening regional economic integration in the Western Balkans in line with the EU standards. It was agreed by the leaders of the Western Balkans Six (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia) and endorsed at the Berlin Process Summit in Sofia on 10 November, 2020.

The rationale behind the creation of a common regional economic integration agenda lies in the aspirations of Western Balkan Six to maximize efforts towards joining the European Union but also to address shortcomings stemming from an ensuing pandemic crisis that led the Western Balkan economies into a deep economic recession. The pandemic severely affected the economic activity of Western Balkan Six, thereby causing the interruptions in supply chains, creating fiscal pressures, bringing down revenues and increasing spending needs of governments, and affecting labour market conditions with surge in unemployment rates. CRM Action Plan is meant to serve as a transformational instrument for increasing the competitive edge of Western Balkans, while at the same time facilitating the region’s advancement towards the EU Single market.

Common Regional Market 2021-2024 Action Plan was created by the Regional Cooperation Council in close consultation with Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) on trade-related activities, with an unwavering support from the European Commission, private sector, South East Europe economies and relevant regional and international stakeholders.