The Western Balkans Leaders Summit, which will bring together representatives from the region’s six economies, European nations, and European Union institutions, will provide an opportunity to review the results of regional cooperation to date, as well as to agree on concrete steps towards strengthening economic connectivity, attracting investment, and drawing closer to the EU single market.
The summit will take place on 22 October in Montenegro, concluding its presidency of the Berlin Process. The focus of the meeting is expected to be on implementing previously undertaken commitments, enhancing regional cooperation, and opening up new opportunities for the economy and citizens of the Western Balkans.
Among the most significant expected advances is the launch of negotiations on removing roaming charges between the Western Balkans and the EU.
On the other hand, for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the question arises once again as to how far it can capitalise on new opportunities, given its unfulfilled obligations and the stalemate in implementing reforms.
Amer Kapetanović, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina can expect the same benefits from this year’s summit as the other Western Balkan economies.
He emphasised that activities primarily relate to turning previously agreed measures into concrete results. He recalled that at last year’s summit in London, 17 concrete measures received political backing, which have since been further elaborated and prepared for presentation at this year’s meeting, reports slobodna-bosna.ba.
Part of these activities is already covered by the Declaration on the Green Agenda, adopted recently in Žabljak, which includes measures for environmental protection, the development of a circular economy, and addressing climate change. Other initiatives are focused on improving the business environment, supporting young entrepreneurs, and attracting investment through a regional mechanism for youth start-ups - incorporating mentorship, contacts with investors, and access to finance - as well as through a framework for small enterprises to assist them with financial management.
One of the main objectives of these measures is to present the Western Balkans as a single investment destination of 17 million inhabitants, rather than six separate and relatively small markets. According to a previous RCC study, implementing these and additional ambitious reforms at the national level could result in an increase in annual foreign direct investment in the region by approximately 7.7 to 8 billion euros.
Among the activities intended to contribute to this goal is the establishment of partnerships between industrial parks in the European Union and the Western Balkans.
As the most tangible benefit that citizens could feel, Kapetanović highlights the start of the negotiation process to end roaming charges between the Western Balkan countries and the European Union. Governments across the region are expected to appoint negotiators soon and launch talks with the European Union. However, this does not mean roaming fees will be eliminated immediately after the summit, as negotiations and the alignment of necessary solutions still lie ahead.
While the RCC announces new opportunities for the economy and citizens, Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) warns that one of the crucial tests of this year’s summit will be the countries’ attitude towards the obligations they previously undertook but have yet to fulfill.
Edo Kanlić, Advocacy and Public Policy Manager at TI BiH, told the Fena EU portal that the summit should offer an overview of results achieved so far, but also highlight the failure to implement certain regional agreements in particular.
Bosna and Herzegovina remains the only country yet to ratify the agreement on free movement with identity cards within the region, maintaining its visa regime for citizens of Kosovo*, even though Kosovo lifted visas for BiH nationals at the start of 2025. Kanlić considers this example illustrative of a broader problem of insufficient commitment to implementing agreed measures.
An additional challenge is that budgetary funds were not allocated in advance for certain regional-level agreements, which frequently leaves their implementation unfulfilled.
Political blockades and the slow pace of reform implementation severely limit BiH's ability to fully benefit from regional integration and gradual inclusion in the European market. A large portion of the Common Regional Market measures is tied to reforms envisioned under the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, through which approximately €976.6 million is available to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The European Commission approved BiH’s Reform Agenda in December last year, but drawing down these funds requires additional agreements and meeting specified conditions.
BiH has not yet completed the required procedures to access these funds, placing it significantly behind the rest of the region.
The greatest lack of results is evident in areas such as digital infrastructure, the Green Agenda, and numerous other policy changes intended to facilitate the movement of people, goods, and capital. These reforms are essential for strengthening the infrastructure that would allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to join specific segments of the common European market even before attaining full EU membership.
For this reason, Kanlić believes it will be extremely important to see what messages the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina will bring to the upcoming summit in Montenegro.
"I am interested to see what messages the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers will take to this summit, because we cannot boast about much - especially looking back over the past year, when results were lacking generally on Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path, as well as in meeting the obligations undertaken within the Berlin Process," Kanlić stated.
The Berlin Process was launched in 2014 as an initiative to strengthen regional cooperation and support the European integration of the six Western Balkan economies. Over past years, measures have been agreed through this process to facilitate trade, citizen mobility, the recognition of qualifications, infrastructure connectivity, and the development of a common regional market.
This year’s summit, which also marks the end of Montenegro’s presidency of the Berlin Process, will demonstrate the extent to which countries in the region are genuinely prepared to translate political commitments into concrete, tangible results for their citizens and economies.
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