MONTENEGRO 2018 - Privredna komora Crne Gore · Tel: +382 20 230 545 e-mail: [email protected] ... Konferencija o ekonomiji Montene-gro 2018 u organizaciji Privredne ko-more Crne Gore

KONFERENCIJA O EKONOMIJIECONOMIC CONFERENCEMontenegro 2018

Vlastimir GolubovićPredsjednik PKCG

Sebastian KurzSavezni kancelar Austrije

Milo ĐukanovićPredsjednik Crne Gore

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Balkan i Evropska unija - petogodišnji ciklus

Berlinskog procesa

Osnovni cilj ZapadnogBalkana je da postanedio Evropske unije

EU kompletna kadasve zemlje Regionabudu njene članice

Imperativ su strukturnereforme i jačanjekonkurentnosti Regiona

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Riječ predsjednika KomoreOsnovni cilj ZapadnogBalkana je da postanedio Evropske unije

Riječ predsjednika Crne GoreImperativ su strukturnereforme i jačanjekonkurentnosti Regiona

Riječ austrijskog kancelaraEU kompletna kadasve zemlje Regionabudu njene članice

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Vlastimir Golubović, President of the CEMThe Western Balkansaimed at becoming a partof the EU

Milo Đukanović, President of MontenegroStructural reformsand strengthening thecompetitiveness of theRegion are imperatives

Sebastian Kurz, Federal Chancellor of AustriaEU incompletewithout the Region

KONFERENCIJA O EKONOMIJI ECONOMIC CONFERENCE MONTENEGRO 2018

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Izdavač:

Privredna komora Crne GoreNovaka Miloševa 29/IIPodgorica 81000, Crna GoraTel: +382 20 230 545e-mail: [email protected]://www.privrednakomora.me

Redakcijski odbor:

Predsjednica:Ljiljana Filipović

Članovi:Pavle D. Radovanović, Novica Bulatović, Tanja Radusinović, prof. dr Mladen Perazić, dr Nina Drakić, Aleksandar Marđonović

Urednica:Milka Pižurica

Novinar:Igor Perović

Prevod: Dragana Domazetović, Maja Šćepanović Drobnjak

Adresa Redakcije:

Privredna komora Crne Gore/Glasnik Novaka Miloševa 29/IIPodgorica 81000, Crna GoraTel: +382 20 230 439e-mail: [email protected]

Dizajn:

Privredna komora Crne Gore

List izlazi od 1964. godine i upisan je u registar javnih glasila Crne Gore.

PDF verziju možete preuzeti na: http://www.privrednakomora.me/multimedija/glasnik

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Međunarodne finansijske organizacije i investitori

Potrebni dobri projektiza korišćenje EU

sredstava

Uloga komoraEU je najbolja za prosperitet Regiona

Zapadni Balkan i Evropska unija – perspektiveRegion mora dinamičnijeevropskim putem

Regionalna saradnja kao segment evropskih integracijaPolitička stabilnostpreduslov ekonomskogprosperiteta

Privređivati na Balkanu - prednosti, nedostaci i preporukeSmanjiti administraciju isivu ekonomiju

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Ekonomska i evropska perspektiva BalkanaBićemo u Evropskoj uniji prije 2025. godine

Zaključci i preporukeZapadnom Balkanu potrebna veća ulaganja ukapital, rad i produktivnost

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Chambers’ roleEU is the best solutionfor regional prosperity International financial

organizations and investorsGood projects needed forthe use of EU funds

Regional cooperation as a segment of European

integrationPolitical stability as

a precondition foreconomic prosperity

Doing business in the BalkansReduce administrationand the gray economyWestern Balkans and the

European Union – perspectivesMore dynamic Europeanpath for the Region

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Economic and European perspectives of the BalkansWe will join the European Union before 2025

Conclusions and recommendations The Western Balkans needs greaterinvestments in capital, labour and productivity

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Regionalno okupljanje donosilaca odluka, međunarodnih aktera, akademske zajednice i uspješnih privrednika, pružilo uvid u ostvarene rezultate u procesu evropskih integracija, ali i perspektivu regionalne saradnje i snaženja ekonomskih veza unutar Regiona u duhu Berlinskog procesa

Balkan i Evropska unija-petogodišnji ciklus Berlinskog procesa

Konferencija o ekonomiji Montenegro 2018

Konferencija o ekonomiji Montene-gro 2018 u organizaciji Privredne ko-more Crne Gore održana je osmi put

25. i 26. oktobra 2018. godine u Budvi. Riječ je o jednom od najznačajnijih ekonomskih skupova u Regionu koji je ove godine imao više od 850 učesnika, među kojima su do-nosioci odluka, predstavnici poslovne i akademske zajednice Zapadnog Balkana, kao i međunarodnih institucija.

Tema Konferencije bila je "Balkan i Evrop-ska unija - petogodišnji ciklus Berlinskog procesa" i njome su organizatori željeli da daju doprinos snaženju regionalne sara-dnje i daljem procesu evropskih integracija ovog područja.

Do sada ostvareni rezultati Berlinskog pro-

cesa, vizija budućnosti Balkana i napredak u reformama koje će Region integrisati u Evropsku uniju predmet su šest panela to-kom kojih su govorili predsjednici i visoki članovi vlada Regiona, resorni ministri, predstavnici Evropske komisije, asocija-cija privrednih komora Evrope i Balkana, međunarodnih finansijskih organizacija i investitora, vodeći pregovarači u integra-cionom procesu, te čelnici kompanija koje ostvaruju izuzetne poslovne rezultate.

Konferenciju su otvorili Vlastimir Golu-bović, predsjednik Privredne komore, Se-bastian Kurz, kancelar Republike Austrije - države koja predsjedava Savjetom Evrop-ske unije i predsjednik Crne Gore Milo Đu-kanović.

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Osnovni cilj Zapadnog Balkana je da postane dio Evropske unije

Riječ predsjednika Komore

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Regionu potrebne investicije u obrazovanje i infrastrukturu. Digitalizacija je pokretač promjena i napretka, a digitalna integracija se najbolje može postići regionalnom saradnjom.

Predsjednik Privredne komore Crne Gore Vlastimir Golubović kazao je da je Berlinski proces imao korisnu ulogu u periodu velikog zastoja u procesu proširenja, jer je pomogao očuva-

nju eurooptimizma na našim prostorima, afirmišući regionalnu saradnju kao jednu od ključnih komponenti evropskih integracija.

- Međutim, ovaj proces nije i ne može biti alternativa procesu evropskih integracija niti kompenzacija za kasniji prijem, već is-ključivo način da se podigne kapacitet Regiona da što prije ispuni kriterijume za punopravno članstvo. Osnovni cilj zemalja Zapa-dnog Balkana je da postanu dio ekonomskog saveza koji je upravo putem regionalnog povezivanja prerastao u Evropsku uniju - naj-bogatije i najdinamičnije jedinstveno tržište na svijetu – rekao je Golubović.

Podsjetio je da su privredne komore Balkana su još mnogo prije Berlinskog procesa radile na uspostavljanju poslovnih veza, po-stepeno mijenjale imidž regiona i insistirale da se u međusobnim odnosima favorizuju ekonomska pitanja od značaja za praktičan život privrede i građana, svjesne da se dugoročni ekonomski i poslovni planovi ne mogu graditi bez predvidljivog i odgovornog pravca u kojem se cjelokupno društvo kreće. Zato je, naglašava, iz-uzetno važno prisustvo na Konferenciji visokih zvaničnika Evrop-ske unije i Zapadnog Balkana od kojih privrednici Regiona očekuju podršku dinamičnijem usaglašavanju sa evropskim standardima, kako bi stvorili stabilan i podsticajan ambijent za privrednu aktiv-nost i ekonomski rast.

Prema riječima predsjednika Komore, većina balkanskih ekono-mija suočava se sa neodgovarajućom infrastrukturom, niskom konkurentnošću i produktivnošću, tehnološkim zaostajanjem, niskom akumulacijom kapitala, slabim izvoznim potencijalom, a koji nijesu ništa drugačiji od onih koji su prije ulaska u Evropsku uniju opterećivali Irsku, mediteranske zemlje ili Centralnu Evropu. Jasni i čvrsti mehanizmi regionalne politike unutar Evropske Uni-je, strukturalni i kohezioni fondovi omogućili su novim članicama rapidan razvoj koji je privukao značajna strana ulaganja, navodi on.

- Za zemlje Zapadnog Balkana bi bilo od izuzetne važnosti da pri-je zvaničnog prijema budu u mogućnosti da više koriste evropske mehanizme koji podrazumijevaju snažniju finansijsku podršku. Zapadni Balkan zaostaje za Evropom u svim segmentima, ali naj-drastičniji jaz predstavlja nerazvijenost naše saobraćajne i ener-getske infrastrukture, koje čine kičmu svake privrede. Izdašniji finansijski podsticaji bi doprinijeli da Balkan postepeno ujednači svoj ekonomski i socijalni razvoj s prosjekom Evropske unije – re-kao je Golubović.

On je dodao da je za pomoć svojim manje razvijenim državama i regionima u periodu 2007-2013 Evropska unija je izdvojila 269 mi-lijardi eura, dok je za Zapadni Balkan od 2007-2017 opredijeljeno

devet milijardi eura. U 2018. godini region Balkana će dobiti mili-jardu eura, dok će samo Bugarska za isti period dobiti 6,8 milijardi.

- Regionu su potrebne investicije u obrazovanje i nauku, jer kon-kurentska prednost više nije jeftina, nego kvalifikovana radna snaga. Procjenjuje se da je Zapadni Balkan za nepunih 20 godina napustilo 4,4 miliona ljudi, što je jasan signal da moramo raditi u pravcu mobilizacije svih kreativnih potencijala, reformi obrazov-nog sistema, podsticanju privatnog sektora i inovativnosti kako bi od naše zemlje i regiona napravili perspektivno mjesto za život i rad – kazao je predsjednik Komore.

Prema njegovim riječima, glavni pokretač promjena i napretka je digitalizacija i ukoliko se želi stvoriti bolja budućnost, ne može se propustiti digitalna integracija koja se najbolje može ostvariti re-gionalnom saradnjom. Smanjenje troškova poslovanja, slobodan i neograničen pristup globalnom tržištu, te digitalna inovativnost, prednosti su koje digitalizacija tržišta donosi malim ekonomija-ma.

- Evropske integracije su kompleksan i dugotrajan reformski po-duhvat, ali i istorijsko pravo naroda Balkana na bezbjedno i pro-speritetno okruženje, koje evropska zajednica država i naroda simbolizuje. Zemlje Zapadnog Balkana treba da budu svjesne da će na tom putu jedne drugima biti najvažniji saveznici, ali da ih očekuje i zdrava konkurencija u dostizanju evropskih standarda budući da kolektivnog prijema, kako je najavljeno, neće biti, već će pojedinačne zasluge svake zemlje opredijeliti konačni uspjeh na evropskom putu – istakao je Vlastimir Golubović.

On je zatim predstavio teme panela Konferencije – "Ekonomska i evropska perspektiva Balkana", "Uloga privrednih komora u pro-mociji evropskih vrijednosti i snaženju ekonomskih veza regiona", "Međunarodne finansijske organizacije i investitori - koliko je Bal-kan spreman da koristi prilike", "Zapadni Balkan i evropska unija – perspektive", "Regionalna saradnja kao segment evropskih inte-gracija /Ekonomija - generator ukupnog razvoja", te "Privređivati na balkanu - prednosti, nedostaci i preporuke".

Uvodno obraćanje Golubović je završio podsjećanjem da je ovo va-žna godina za Privrednu komoru Crne Gore koja obilježava devet decenija svog rada.

- U svojoj dugoj tradiciji Komora i crnogorski privrednici ostavili su neizbrisiv trag u kreiranju ekonomske istorije Crne Gore, baš kao što i mi danas nastojimo doprinijeti kvalitetu i napretku sada-šnjeg ekonomskog trenutka. Koristim priliku da pozdravim ovdje prisutne ranije predsjednike Privredne komore, uz posebnu za-hvalnost gospodinu Velimiru Mijuškoviću koji je utemeljivač ove Konferencije – rekao je Golubović.

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EU kompletna kada sve zemlje Regiona budu njene članice

Riječ austrijskog kancelara

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Kancelar Austrije Sebastian Kurz iz-razio je zadovoljstvo što učestvuje u radu visoko rangirane ekonomske

konferencije u Budvi. Podsjetio na bliske kulturne, političke, ekonomske i druge veze Austrije i Regiona i naglasio da su austrij-ske kompanije među najvećim investitori-ma na ovom prostoru.

- Evropska unija biće kompletna kada sve zemlje Regiona budu njene članice. Zapa-dni Balkan je odlučujući za stabilnost EU. Interes je Evropske unije da ovaj prostor bude njen dio – rekao je Kurz.

On je istakao da je Region na dobrom putu integracija, a tokom predsjedavanja Bugar-ske i Austrije Unijom nastala je nova dina-mika u ovom procesu. Berlinski proces je doprinijeo daljem napretku u regionalnoj saradnji.

- Evropska perspektiva zemalja Zapadnog Balkana sada je mnogo bolja, a Crna Gora i Srbija prednjače po broju otvorenih pogla-vlja u pregovorima sa EU – rekao je kance-lar.

Ključni procesi koji se očekuju u Regionu, prema njegovim riječima su nastavak di-jaloga Beograda i Prištine, Makedonije i Grčke, a kancelar je optimista i što se tiče napretka Kosova te Bosne i Hercegovine.

- I EU i države Regiona treba da pruže do-prinos evropskim integracijama. Zapadni Balkan treba da konsekventno sprovodi reforme kako bi zadržao nivo ekonomskog rasta, a EU da potpomogne ove procese time što će nastaviti investicije u Region – rekao je Kurz, podsjetivši da je EU dopri-nijela otvaranju oko 250.000 radnih mjesta na Balkanu.

Zapadni Balkan je odlučujući za stabilnost EU. Interes je Evropske unije da ovaj prostor bude njen dio, poručio Sebastian Kurz.

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Neophodno da svi zajedno više i brže rade na podizanju konkurentnosti. U tome posebnu ulogu imaju evropske integracije, zajedno sa Berlinskim procesom.

Crna Gora ostaje potpuno posvećena regionalnoj saradnji i ekonomskoj integraciji i nastavlja proces uvođenja evrop-skih standarda čvrsto vjerujući u zajedničke interese i afir-

misanje zajedničkih vrijednosti, poručio je predsjednik Države, Milo Đukanović.

- Na tom putu nastojaćemo da se uspjesima branimo od onih koji bi Crnu Goru i Zapadni Balkan htjeli da vrate vjekovima unazad. U tome računamo na nedvosmislenu i kontinuiranu podršku EU - rekao je Đukanović.

On je kazao da je imperativno važno nastaviti sprovođenje struk-turnih reformi i jačanje konkurentnosti regiona.

- Pomaka ima, što potvrđuje i napredak Crne Gore za dvije pozicije u nedavno objavljenom izvještaju Svjetskog ekonomskog foruma. Napredak su ostvarile i Srbija i Albanija, ali to nije dovoljno - sa-opštio je Đukanović.

On smatra da je neophodno da svi zajedno rade više i brže na podi-zanju konkurentnosti, kao i da u tome posebnu ulogu ima proces evropskih integracija, zajedno sa Berlinskim procesom.

Predsjednik je saopštio da Berlinski proces predstavlja važnu na-dogradnju politike EU prema regionu, koji bi trebalo da doprinese pojednostavljenju ekonomske saradnje i dinamičnijem procesu evropskih integracija.

On je naveo da je zahvaljujući bugarskom predsjedavanju, tema infrastrukturnog povezivanja Zapadnog Balkana dobila dodatnu pažnju i konkretan impuls.

- Regionu je opredijeljena bespovratna podrška od preko 180 mi-liona eura. Na spisku koji čeka formalno budžetiranje našla su se i dva projekta iz Crne Gore, a to su dio Jadransko-Jonske brze sa-obraćajnice i željeznička trasa Bar-Vrbnica - rekao je Đukanović.

On smatra da je pomoć infrastrukturnom razvoju Zapadnog Bal-kana najvažniji doprinos koji EU može dati bržem izlasku iz zao-stalosti svake od zemalja regiona.

- To bi bio i najubjedljiviji odgovor na kontraverze u vezi sa prisu-stvom investitora iz trećih zemalja, što nam se nerijetko spočita-va s nekih važnih evropskih adresa - kazao je Đukanović.

Smatra da trgovinska i infrastrukturna integracija među država-ma regiona, i između Zapadnog Balkana i EU, ne može biti dovolj-na, niti supstitut za političku integraciju u EU.

Predsjednik Crne Gore je poručio da je neophodno zajednički afir-misati politike usmjerene na rast produktivnosti, povećanje broja kvalitetnih radnih mjesta, kao i smanjenje siromaštva, nezapo-slenosti i rada u neformalnom sektoru.

- Važno je da posvećeno stvaramo uslove za inkluzivan i održiv razvoj cijelog regiona - zaključio je Đukanović.

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Imperativ su strukturne reforme i jačanje konkurentnosti Regiona

Riječ predsjednika Crne Gore

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Bićemo u Evropskoj uniji prije 2025. godine

Ekonomska i evropska perspektiva Balkana

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Nije cilj Crne Gore da što prije uđe u EU da bi se zvala članicom, već želi da preuzme i implementira evropske vrijednosti, kazao je crnogorski premijer Duško Marković.

Poslovna zajednica Regiona očekuje od donosilaca odluka da i dalje rade na unapređenju poslovnog ambijenta, uklanja-nju netarifnih barijera u međusobnoj trgovini i povećanju

efikasnosti administracije na državnom i lokalnom nivou, u cilju stvaranja uslova za povećanje obima trgovine i razvoja ukupnih privrednih odnosa. Koji su planovi vlada zemalja Regiona u vezi sa navedenim pitanjima razgovarano je na panelu o ekonomskoj i

evropskoj perspektivi Balkana.

U radu panela učestvovali su predsjednik Vlade Crne Gore Du-ško Marković, predsjednik Vlade Kosova Ramush Haradinaj, po-tpredsjednik Vlade Srbije Rasim Ljajić i zamjenik predsjednika Vlade Makedonije Kocho Angjushev.

Moderator je bio Christian Wehrschütz, novinar ORF iz Austrije.

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Crnogorski premijer Duško Marković za-hvalio je Privrednoj komori na organiza-ciji Konferencije koju je ocijenio važnom platformom za odgovor na ključno pitanje – kako unaprijediti kvalitet života građana.

On je ocijenio da u posljednjih 30 godina Zapadni Balkan nije bio u boljoj poziciji odnosno da njegova evropska perspektiva nije bila izvjesnija. Na tom putu su, dodaje premijer, brojni rizici i izazovi, političke ne-stabilnosti, populističke ideje, trgovinske tenzije između velikih sila.

- U takvim uslovima sprovodimo evropsku agendu. Otvorili smo 31 poglavlje u prego-vorima sa EU i privremeno zatvorili tri. To nije tehnički, već suštinski proces jer dovo-di do promjena u našem društvu – rekao je Marković.

Prema njegovim riječima, nije cilj Crne Gore da što prije uđe u EU da bi se zvala čla-nicom, već želi da preuzme i implementira evropske vrijednosti. Najavio je da će do kraja godine biti otvoreno poglavlje 27 te da će zatvaranje svih poglavlja biti mnogo lakši i brži proces.

- Bićemo u Evropskoj uniji prije 2025. ili možda baš te godine – kazao je Marković.

On je kazao da je EU opredijelila za Crnu Goru 700 miliona eura od 2007. godine, a više od 240 miliona za infrastrukturu što je znatno pomoglo ekonomskom rastu.

On smatra da su sve države Regiona imale benefite od Berlinskog procesa koji je oja-čao povjerenje među državama, ali da je potrebno otkloniti barijere koje usporavaju integracione procese. Među njima su ne-carinske i administrativne barijere slobo-dnom protoku roba.

- Moramo jačati infrastrukturu ali i admi-nistrativne kapacitete kako bi se iskoristili razvojni potencijali – rekao je Marković.

Prema njegovim riječima, CEFTA spora-zum je osnov agende povezivanja ovog područja, ali postoje problemi da se on u potpunosti implementira. On kaže da je CEFTA doprinijela rastu trgovine sa EU, ali da robna razmjena ima trend pada kada su potpisnice ovog sporazuma u pitanju.

Potpredsjednik Vlade Srbije Rasim Ljajić smatra da je Region jako daleko od EU. Pre-ma njegovim riječima, uspješnost u inte-gracijama se ne mjeri otvaranjem i zatva-ranjem poglavlja.

- Region još pati od hroničnih problema: neriješenih političkih pitanja, tehnološke

zaostalosti i odliva stučne radne snage. Nemamo objektivno puno razloga da bude-mo optimisti u evropskom procesu naroči-to ako uzmemo u obzir migrantsku krizu, Bregzit i druge izazove na koje ne možemo da utičemo. Kao što je kazao predsjednik Francuske Emanuel Makron, Evropa ne može biti veća prije nego što postane jača – rekao je Ljajić.

On je dodao da Region zaostaje za EU 30 godina u tehnološkom smislu, a da će 35 godina biti potrebno da dostigne nivo infra-strukturne razvijenosti. Prema njegovim riječima, brine činjenica da sa Zapadnog Balkana u svijet odlazi šest puta više obra-zovanih ljudi nego iz drugih djelova svijeta.

- Nacionalizam u društvu, populizam u po-litici i komunizam u ekonomiji su ključni problemi zbog kojih zaostajemo za Evrop-skom unijom – zaključio je Ljajić.

On je istakao da je Berlinski proces dopri-nio približavanju zemalja Regiona, te da je najbolje targetirao ključne izazove na ovom području, koji se odnose na mlade i ekonomiju. On je međutim kazao da spo-rost u realizaciji loše utiče na ovaj dobro zamišljen koncept koji bi trebalo da dopri-nese otvaranju 200.000 radnih mjesta i ra-stu BDP-a na Balkanu.

- Ukoliko Region ne počne brže da se infra-strukturno povezuje, bojim se da će Berlin-ski proces postati još jedna inicijativa koja nije dala rezultate – rekao je Ljajić.

Zamjenik predsjednika Vlade Makedonije Kocho Angjushev smatra da Balkan treba da prestane da produkuje više istorije nego što može da je konzumira.

- Naš zadatak je da produkujemo među-sobnu saradnju kako bismo doprinijeli eko-nomskom razvoju i prosperitetu građana – kaže Angjushev.

On je takođe ukazao na problem carinskih barijera između država Balkana.

- Zašto bismo gradili saobraćajnice koje će skratiti rastojanje među nama ukoliko naši kamioni još uvijek na graničnim prelazima čekaju i po sedam sati. Potrebno je da se dogovorimo o međusobnom priznavanju dokumenata kao što su sertifikati i dekla-racije koje prate robu, te da eliminišemo da carinske kontrole rade dvostruki posao. Zapadni Balkan je dio Evrope, a sav pesi-mizam prema integracijama će nestati ako razvijamo saradnju. Prostora za to najviše u energetici i poljoprivredi – smatra - za-mjenik premijera Makedonije.

On smatra da Region ne može biti konku-rentan sa EU sve dok tehnološki ne bude na višem nivou, te naveo veliku disproporciju u onome što za unapređenje inovativnosti izdvajaju zemlje Regiona u odnosu na EU.

Kazao je da je Berlinski proces koristan sa političkog i ekonomskog aspekta. On je omogućio da infrastrukturni projekti, za-hvaljujući grantovi, postanu atraktivniji za finansijere.

- Ne možemo ipak očekivati od Brisela da riješi sve naše probleme, moramo sami da se potrudimo – rekao je Angjushev, do-dajući da zemlje Regiona ne treba da se međusobno doživljavaju kao konkurenti već kao partneri.

Premijer Kosova Ramush Haradinaj govo-rio o napretku ambijenta za poslovanje naj-mlađe države Balkana i Evrope, koja ima najmanji javni dug i stimulativnu poresku politiku.

- Nijesmo pesimisti što se tiče evropskog puta Kosova. Nije nam cilj da zakasnimo u EU ali ni da zbog nas druge države u Regio-nu čekaju – kazao je Haradinaj.

Govoreći o susjedskim odnosima, on je ka-zao da Srbija treba da promijeni svoj stav o Kosovu i time riješi posljednje otvoreno pitanje svog napretka u EU.

- Politika Srbije nas još nije priznala ali jeste ekonomija, pošto kompanije iz te ze-mlje na Kosovo izvoze robu u vrijednosti od 500 miliona dolara – rekao je Haradinaj, na što mu potpredsjednik Ljajić kazao da Ko-sovo predstavlja značajno tržište, mada ne najveće u regionu za srpske proizvode. Cilj je da Srbija poveća plasman robe na Kosovo i obrnuto.

Haradinaj je ukazao da je potrebno una-prijediti infrastrukuturu između Crne Gore i Kosova kako bi protok roba bio brži. On prepoznaje da carinska administracija i izostanak One Stop Shopa usporavaju tr-govinu među zemljama, te je najavio da će to ovo pitanje do kraja godine biti adresira-no prema Albaniji, a u narednom periodu i prema ostalim državama Regiona.

Na pitanje o odlivu stručnog kadra, Haradi-naj je kazao da je ovaj problem prisutan i na Kosovu, ali nije toliko izražen kao u drugim državama. On je istakao i da se mora raditi na liberalizaciji viznog režima za građane Regiona.

U okviru panela ministarka nauke Sanja Damjanović prezentovala je Institut održi-vih tehnologija Jugistočne Evrope.

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EU je najbolja za prosperitet Regiona

Uloga komora u promociji evropskih vrijednosti i snaženju ekonomskih veza Regiona

O unapređivanju ekonomskih veza, te promociji evropskih vrijednosti na Balkanu, a i Evropi uopšte, nije moguće raz-govarati bez naglašavanja uloge privrednih komora. Neza-

mjenljiva je uloga komora širom Evrope u uspostavljanju ambi-jenta koji pogoduje razvoju biznisa i unapređenju konkurentnosti privrede, kreiranju obrazovnog sistema u skladu sa zahtjevima tržišta rada, vođenju ekonomske diplomatije i stvaranju zdravog ekonomsko-socijalnog dijaloga. Komore Zapadnog Balkana su posvećene ispunjavanju ovih zadataka na isti način kao i srodne asocijacije najrazvijenijih zemalja. Komore uče jedne od drugih, povezuju nacionalne ekonomije i promovišu važnost dostizanja evropskih standarda i vrijednosti.

Na ovu temu govorili su čelnici najznačajnijih međunarodnih ko-morskih asocijacija: Arnaldo Abruzzini, generalni direktor Asoci-jijacije privrednih komora Evrope (Eurochambres), Tamer Kiran, potpredsjednik Unije privrednih komora i robnih berzi Turske, Mirjana Čagalj, predsjednica Foruma jadransko-jonskih komora (AIC Forum) i Marko Čadež, predsjedavajući Komorskog investici-onog foruma Zapadnog Balkana (KIF ZB6).

Moderator je bio Safet Gerxhalliu, generalni sekretar KIF-a koji je čestitao Privrednoj komori Crne Gore na organizaciji skupa čiji je cilj promovisanje saradnje i partnerstva u Regionu. Govorio je o

ulozi privrednih komora u postavljanju temelja ekonomskog ra-zvoja regije, te pozvao donosioce odluka da na ove asocijacija gle-daju kao na partnere.

Mirjana Čagalj stavila je akcenat na saradnju komora u okviru Ja-dransko-jonskog foruma. Ona je navela brojne zajedničke projekte kojim apliciraju prema fondovima EU u interesu privrede, a najvi-še se odnose na edukaciju.

- Ulazak u Evropsku uniju je važan jer ona daje stabilnost i mir, a to su preduslovi privrednog razvoja naročito u državama u kojima turizam daje značajan doprinos BDP-u – rekla je Čagalj.

Ona je kazala da su benefiti ulaska u EU značajni, jer je riječ o ve-oma velikom tržištu na kojem je lakše poslovati. Ona navodi da se dio nacionalnog identiteta isprva gubi ulaskom u Uniju, ali da po-slije izvjesnog vremena stanovnici postaju svjesni tradicionalnih vrijednosti i teže da ih sačuvaju, kao što je to u Hrvatskoj urađeno kroz projekte Kupuj hrvatsko i slične. Čagalj je istakla ulogu komo-ra u procesu integracija.

- Komore su te koje olakšavaju ulazak zemalja u Evropsku uniju, prema vladama identifikuju barijere i učestvuju u njihovom otkla-njanju – kazala je predstavnica AIC Foruma.

Arnaldo Abruzzini, Eurochambres, rekao je da se samo kroz dija-

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log, saradnju i razumijevanje može doći do boljeg života građana. To su postulati na kojima se temelji Evropska unija i Eurocham-bres.

- Ne znam za bolju strategiju koja vodi prosperitetu građana od ove koju nudi ovom Regionu Evropska unija, a u čijoj osnovi je dijalog – rekao je Abruzzini.

On je govorio potom o uticaju Eurochambresa na donosioce odluka u Briselu i naglasio da je njihov cilj zaštita interesa članstva, odno-sno privrednika širom Evrope.

- Ako uspijemo da ostvarimo interese poslovne zajednice možemo reći da smo bili djelotvorni – zaključio je Abruzzini.

Tamer Kiran, TOBB kazao je da je Turska 1959. godine aplicirala za članstvo u EU i da još čeka na prijem, što je bila poruka zemljama Zapadnog Balkana da budu strpljive u tom procesu. Međutim, Tur-ska ima carinsku uniju sa EU.

Turska ima robnu razmjenu sa EU vrijednu 150 milijardi eura godi-šnje. Izvozi 45 odsto robe u EU, dok uvoz sa tog područja u Tursku čini 38 odsto od ukupnog ove zemlje.

- Odnosi Turske i EU su predmet diskusije duže vrijeme, no kao i većina aspiranata vidimo svoju budućnost u Uniji jer dijelimo nje-

ne vrijednosti – rekao je Kiran.

Predsjedavajući KIF-a i predsjednik Privredne komore Srbije Mar-ko Čadež kazao je da se živi u neizvjesnom vremenu u kojem nije lako predvidjeti kako će Region izaći na kraj sa brojnim izazovima. Zato je važna regionalna ekonomska saradnja koja podstiče kon-kurentnost, produktivnost i kvalitet.

Prema njegovim riječima, napredak u zemljama Regiona je vidan, ali je takođe istakao da je veliko njihovo zaostajanje za EU.

- Percipiramo Balkan u lošijem svijetlu nego što to čine ljudi sa strane – ocjenjuje on.

Govoreći o problemu odlaska obrazovane radne snage sa ovog po-dručja, Čadež je kazao da je to veliki izazov jer nikada nije bilo la-kše dobiti dozvolu boravka i posao u EU. Prema njegovim riječima, kroz razvoj dualnog obrazovanja pokušava se obezbijediti poslo-davcima nedostajući stručni kadar.

On je posebno istakao da još nije potpisan protokol 7 CEFTA koji se odnosi na mobilnost radne snage.

- Rješenje za problem radne snage nećemo naći dok ne olakšamo njenu mobilnost među našim zemljama i ne napravimo sistem obrazovanja prema potrebama privrede – rekao je Marko Čadež.

Rješenje za problem radne snage je povećanje njene mobilnosti među zemljama Regiona i stvaranje sistema obrazovanja prema potrebama privrede.

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Potrebni dobri projekti za korišćenje EU sredstava

Međunarodne finansijske organizacije i investitori - koliko je Balkan spreman da koristi prilike

Balkan je u odnosu na kraj prethodnog i početak ovog vijeka značajno iskoračio u ekonomskom smislu. Pitanje koje su predstavnici međunarodnih finansijskih institucija razma-

trali na trećem panelu Konferencije bilo je da li je Balkan spreman da koristi prilike koje su pred njim. Jer, instrumenata za finansira-nje ima, ali put do njih traži određena znanja i vještine.

Učesnici panela bili su Isabelle Stoffel, vodeća predstavnica Evrop-ske investicione banke za Zapadni Balkan, Zoran Martinovski, di-rektor za Crnu Goru i Makedoniju, IFC, Svjetska banka, Nadeem Ilahi, direktor MMF-a za centralnu, istočnu i jugoistočnu Evropu, Hans-Joachim Heusler, direktor Bayern Internationala, te Antonis Semelides, izvršni direktor Jugopetrola.

Moderator panela bila je Zorica Kalezić, članica Savjeta Centralne banke Crne Gore, koja je kazala da je konvergencija zemalja Zapa-dnog Balkana prema dohotku EU daleko iza one koje su ostvariva-le zemlje koje su se posljednje integrisale u Uniju. Prema njenim riječima, u zemljama Regiona potreban je niz reformi da bi se ubr-zao proces konvergencije.

Nadeem Ilahi iz MMF-a ocjenjuje da Zapadni Balkan traži više ka-pitala i radne snage, a produktivnost treba da se poveća. Ovo po-dručje rast duguje investicijama javnog sektora u infrastrukturu, što međutim sada nailazi na ograničenja zbog povećanja duga.

- Investicije moraju da budu iz eksternih izvora da se ne bi na-rušila fiskalna stabilnost. Jedan od načina njihove realizacije je

javno privatno partnerstvo, ali budite oprezni jer je to rizik – rekao je Ilahi.

On smatra da je ekonomija Zapadnog Balkana zatvorena, te da tre-ba više da uvozi, proizvodi i izvozi, te u većoj mjeri učestvuje u globalnom lancu vrijednosti.

- Ubrzanje integracija u EU kroz veće učešće u globalnim lancima vrijednosti ključno je za rast ekonomija Zapadnog Balkana – za-ključio je Ilahi.

Evropska investiciona banka, prema riječima njene predstavnice Isabelle Stoffel, od 2000. godine je u Zapadni Balkan uložila sedam milijardi eura.

Tokom 14 godina, koliko su aktivni u Regionu, podržali su obnovu infrastrukture, projekte u oblasti obrazovanja, zdravstva, energeti-ke, upravljanja otpadom i druge.

- Ključna tema Berlinskog procesa su investicije u infrastrukturu, zato smo od početka uključeni u te projekte – kazala Stoffel, navo-deći da je 150 projekata dobilo njihove grantove.

Ona je naglasila da ima sredstava za dodatna ulaganja.

- Potrebni su nam dobri projekti koji su finansijski i tehnički izvo-dljivi i u skladu su sa EU regulativom. Pozivamo vas da aplicirate za ta sredstva – rekla je ona.

Govorila je i o aktivnosti EIB u pomaganju razvoja malih i srednjih

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Ubrzanje integracija u EU kroz veće učešće u globalnim lancima vrijednosti ključno je za rast ekonomija Zapadnog Balkana.

preduzeća. EIB to čini davanjem kredita komercijalnim bankama koje ta sredstva plasiraju MSP. Za tu namjenu na Zapadnom Balka-nu je izdvojeno 100 miliona eura u prethodnom periodu.

Zoran Martinovski, IFC, smatra da su Regionu potrebne dodatne investicije, bilo javne ili privatne. Javne investicije su limitirane fiskalnim okvirom, a alternativa je model javno privatnog partner-stva koji je najzastupljeniji u finansiranju izgradnje infrastrukture, zdravstvu, obrazovanju.

- Veliki je skepticizam vezan za javno privatno partnerstvo. Ono je poput braka koji može biti dobar ili loš, sve zavisi od partnera. U Beogradu je na ovaj način realizovan projekat pretvaranja otpada u energiju koji je privukao kvalitetne partnere – naveo je Martino-vski, navodeći da će IFC podržati lokalne i centralne vlasti u reali-zaciji projekata javno privatnog partnerstva.

Hans-Joachim Heusler iz Bayern International rekao je da pred-stavlja neprofitnu kompaniju u državnom vlasništvu koja promo-više izvoz.

- Mi pomažemo malim i srednjim preduzećima. U Bavarskoj je milion kompanija, od čega se trećina bavi izvozom. Preduslov za dalje širenje naših kompanija je stručna radna snaga koje u Ba-varskoj više nema. Nezaposlenost kod nas iznosi svega tri do pet odsto. Zato želimo da poslujemo u drugim regijama, a tamo očeku-jemo dobro obrazovanu radnu snagu – rekao je Heusler.

Prema njegovim riječima, kompanije iz Bavarske su zaintereso-

vane za korišćenje resursa iz agrara, šumarstva, rudarstva i ribar-stva. One procjenjuju u kojoj mjeri zemlje potencijalni partneri fi-nalizuju proizvode u ovim oblastima i nude se da budu karika koja nedostaje tom procesu.

Hellenic Petroleum je na prostoru Balkana od 2000. godine, rekao je izvršni direktor Jugopetrol AD Antonis Semelides. Prema nje-govim riječima, svaki investitor prije ulaganja u neku zemlju traži ispunjenje određenih parametara. Najvažniji parametar je, kaže, ljudski kapital.

- Ako kadar nije dobro obrazovan, mi na tom području ne možemo mnogo da uradimo. Stručan kadar je potreban kako u kompanija-ma, tako i u administraciji. Zato je edukacija esencijalna – smatra Semelides.

Drugi parametar je, dodaje on, politička i finansijska stabilnost, jer niko ne želi da ulaže novac u područje koje karakteriše nepredvi-dljivost ambijenta. Među parametrima je, prema njegovim riječi-ma, i efikasnost javnog sektora, čiji će visoko profesionalni kadar brzo donositi odluke koje se odnose na biznis.

- Tokom Konferencije čuo sam da sve zemlje Zapadnog Balkana žele da budu dio EU, jer smatraju da će tada sve barijere za poslo-vanje biti uklonjene. Pitam vas zašto neke od njih ne eliminišete odmah, kao što su carinske i one koje se odnose na mobilnost ra-dne snage – pitao je on, dodajući da je Balkan mnogo napredovao tokom posljednjih 15 godina, ali da predstoji još dosta posla.

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Region mora dinamičnije evropskim putem

Zapadni Balkan i Evropska unija – perspektive

Konferencija je nastavila rad 26. okto-bra 2018. panelom "Zapadni Balkan i Evropska unija – perspektive".

Predstavnici Crne Gore zaduženi za pro-ces pregovaranja i IPA projekte upoznali su učesnike Konferencije sa dosadašnjim tokom pristupanja i njegovim značajem. O tome su sa moderatorkom, prof. dr Gor-danom Đurović, razgovarali Aleksandar Drljević, glavni pregovarač Crne Gore za pristupanje EU i Ivana Glišević-Đurović, nacionalna IPA koordinatorka.

Glavni pregovarač Drljević ocijenio je da je 2018. evropska godina kada su Crna Gora i

Potrebno je iskoristiti pozitivne poruke iz Brisela i nastaviti reformske aktivnosti.

Region u pitanju.

- Ove je prekretnica kada je proces inte-gracija u pitanju naročito kada se uzmu u obzir izazovi pred kojima je EU, poput Bre-gzita – rekao je Drljević, dodajući da su se i na samoj Konferenciji čule snažne poruke podrške evropskim aspiracijama zemalja Balkana. On je podjstio da je Samit u Lon-donu stavio u fokus Zapadni Balkan kroz konkretne projekte u infrastrukturi kojima se želi obezbijediti što bolja saradnja i ko-munikacija među njegovim zemljama.

Crna Gora je prema njegovim riječima do-bro iskoristila predsjedavanje Bugarske i

Austrije EU da realizuje konkretne aktiv-nosti.

- Potrebno je da iskoristimo pozitivne po-ruke iz Brisela o zacrtanoj evropskoj per-spektivi Zapadnog Balkana i da nastavi-mo reformske aktivnosti u partnerstvu sa Evropskom komisijom – kaže Drljević.

Smatra da u narednom periodu moramo da budemo fokusirani na komunikacionu strategiju kako bi građani u još većoj mje-ri prepoznali benefite integracije u EU. U Crnoj Gori, kaže on, oko 63 odsto građana podržava ulazak zemlje u Evropsku uniju.

Na pitanje moderatorke Gordane Đurović da li su na putu integracija zemlje regiona partneri ili konkurenti, Drljević je odgovo-rio da što više države napreduju u tom pro-cesu veći su benefiti za cijelu regiju.

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- Neohodno je da sve države još dinamični-je krenu evropskim putem i to će biti dobro za cio Zapadni Balkan – kaže glavni prego-varač.

Ivana Glišević-Đurović govorila je o kori-šćenju sredstava predpristupnih fondova. Od 2007. do 2013. godine naša država je is-koristila 96 odsto od 235 miliona eura koje je EU opredijelila. Bilo je 353 projekta u vr-jednosti 54 miliona eura.

- Nova perspektiva za period 2014-2020. godine opredjeljuje 270,5 miliona eura i to za demokratizaciju upravljanja, zaštitu životne sredine, unapređenje saobraćaja, obrazovanja, pospješivanje zapošljavanja, razvoj poljoprivrede i drugo – rekla je ona.

Naglašava da je Crnoj Gori u 2018. godini dodijeljeno osam miliona eura kao nagrada za uspješno korišćenje IPA sredstava i na-

predak u pridruživanju kojima ćemo finan-sirati dvije klinike u Podgorici.

- Novina u IPA 3 je što neće bitni fiksne alokacije na zemlje, već će opredjeljivanje sredstava zavisiti od toga koliko imamo zrele projekte – kazala je Glišević-Đurović.

Ona je govorila i o korišćenju Zapadno-bal-kanskog investicionog okvira u okviru Ber-linskog procesa kojim je opredijeljeno 166 miliona eura granta – 121 milion za infra-strukturu, a 45 za projektnu dokumentaci-ju. U okviru poglavlja 22 pripremamo se za strukturne fondove EU koji će biti šest do osam puta veći od pretpristupne podrške.

Glavni pregovarač je apostrofirao da su do-bri projekti ključni za uspješno korišćenje sredstava iz pretpristupnih fondova navo-deći primjer Malte koja je uspjela da privu-če više novca nego što joj bilo opredijeljeno.

- Prioritet je da nastavimo sa ispunjava-njem mjerila iz pregovaračkih poglavlja, da intenziviramo proces pregovora, otvorimo preostala dva poglavlja i krenemo u proces njihovog zatvaranja. Riječju, da uradimo sve što je do nas. Ukoliko to uradimo vje-rujemo da će za nas važiti princip regate za uključivanje u EU (da će najuspješniji ući u evropsku porodicu nezavisno od ostalih u Regionu) – rekao je Drljević.

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Politička stabilnost preduslov ekonomskog prosperiteta

Regionalna saradnja kao segment evropskih integracija / ekonomija - generator ukupnog razvoja

U regionu neophodno snažiti uzajamno povjerenje i dati prioritet ekonomskim vezama, smatraju ministri ekonomija.

O tome kako se trgovina i drugi vidovi saradnje u Regionu mogu poboljšati, bilo je riječi na panelu ministara ekono-mije Zapadnog Balkana. Gdje je Region što se tiče prije

svega CEFTA sporazuma, proklamovanog kao predvorje Evropske unije? Na jednoj strani vidan je napredak i rezultati koji su značaj-ni, dok su na drugoj brojne netarifne barijere na čije se prevazila-ženje, po mišljenju privrednika, neopravdano dugo čeka.

Na ove teme govorili su Dragica Sekulić, ministarka ekonomije u Vladi Crne Gore, Valdrin Lluka, ministar za ekonomski razvoj Vla-de Kosova, te ministar ekonomije u Vladi Makedonije Kreshnik Bekteshi.

Moderator Aleksandar Vlahović, predsjednik Saveza ekonomista Srbije, napravio je presjek stanja ekonomija Zapadnog Balkana. Region je, kaže, područje sa veoma bogatim potencijalima koje nažalost nikako da iskoristi. On je rekao da je najoptimističkiji

scenario da će ove zemlje za 40 godina biti na nivou prosječnog standarda EU (realnije za šest decenija). Zapadni Balkan se sve bolje kotira na listama Doing Business i Svjetskog ekonomskog foruma, međutim investicioni rejting nijesu dostigle.

Ministarka ekonomije Crne Gore Dragica Sekulić istakla je da je teško sprovoditi mjere fiskalne kosolidacije a ostvarivati ekonom-ski rast. Rast crnogorske ekonomije u 2017. godini iznosio je 4,7 odsto, a u prvoj polovini tekuće 4,8 odsto i to ne računajući poziti-van uticaj turističke sezone.

- Dug Crne Gore je vezan za investicije u infrastrukturu koje zapo-šljavaju domaću radnu snagu i čine okosnicu daljeg ekonomskog razvoja – rekla je Sekulić.

Prema njenim riječima, Vlada djeluje u pravcima stabilizacije jav-nih finansija i podsticanja domaćih i stranih investicija. U tim po-

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slovima Vlada osluškuje potrebe privrede i zato, kaže ministar-ka, godišnja analiza Privredne komore predstavlja svojevrsan vodič za pisanje programa njenog rada.

- Ekonomski rast zavisi od rasta konkurentnosti, a to postižemo donošenjem odgovarajućeg pravnog okvira kojim doprinosimo radu naših privrednika – rekla je ona.

Ocijenila je da bez političke stabilnosti nema ekonomskog ra-zvoja kako Crne Gore tako i Regiona. Ulaskom u NATO promi-jenio se profil investitora koji ulažu u Crnu Goru, jer se ujedno smanjio i rizik ulaganja. Takođe, investicionom ambijentu po-goduje to što je naša zemlja odmakla u procesu EU integracija. Međutim, Crna Gora kao uvozno zavisna u pojedinim segmenti-ma nije imuna na eksterne negativne uticaje.

- Kako se oduprijeti tome? Moramo dobro raditi ono što zavisi od

nas i strukturnim reformama u privatnom i javnom sektoru doći do održivog ekonomskog rasta – rekla je Dragica Sekulić.

Odgovarajući na pitanje moderatora koje se odnosilo na formi-ranje jedinstvenog ekonomskog prostora, Sekulić se osvrnula na CEFTA sporazum koji je u osnovi te ideje. Prema njenim riječima, neophodno je da zemlje potpisnice CEFTA poštuju taj sporazum.

- Berlinski proces treba da doprinese našem međusobnom infra-strukturnom povezivanju. Ali zalud se povezujemo ako donosimo propise kojim otežavamo protok roba među zemljama. CEFTA je već stvorila uslove za slobodnu trgovinu među potpisnicama. Šta će nam novi sporazumi kad ne poštujemo CEFTA-u – pitala se mi-nistarka i naglasila da Crna Gora poštuje sve preuzete obaveze iz ovog sporazuma, da je ratifikovala Protokol 5, usaglasila Protokol 6 i voljna je da što prije se donese Protokol 7.

Ona je navela da je neophodno ukloniti necarinske barijere.

- Uzalud je dobar carinski prelaz ukoliko kamion tamo čeka 12 sati, pa imamo šest procentnih poena veće troškove logistike nego u EU – kaže Sekulić.

Govoreći o kosovskoj privredi, koja jedina nije imala negativan rast u periodu krize, a u prošloj godini je rasla po stopi od 3,8 odsto (4% u prvoj polovini ove godine), Valdrin LLluka je kazao da je ka-rakteriše nizak javni dug od 16 odsto BDP-a što ostavlja prostor za realizaciju krupnih investicije. Pozitivni pomaci bilježe se u sekto-ru usluga, međutim ono što je problem je nizak izvoz.

- Kosovo radi na politikama oživljavanja rudarskog sektora koji ima veliki izvozni potencijal. Rudnik u Trepči bi mogao da postane ključni pokretač naše ekonomije – rekao je Lluka.

Kosovo dosta polaže u razvoj ICT sektora i uložiće značajna sred-stva u optičku infrastrukturu i obuku kadrova. Takođe, agrar Ko-sova postaje sve atraktivniji, kaže ministar, i radiće se na tome da se izvoze proizvodi sa dodatnom vrijednošću, po uzoru na komšije iz Srbije.

Makedonija je prema riječima ministra Kreshnika Bekteshija zabi-lježila dobre rezultate u smislu rasta zaposlenosti i stranih direk-tnih investicija, i to u uslovima kada je rast BDP-a izostao.

- Mi smo sa Privrednom komorom Makedonije napravili plan eko-nomskog rasta koji se temelji na tri stuba: podršci ukupnim inve-sticijama, unapređenju konkurentnosti preduzeća i razvoju sekto-ra MSP – rekao je on.

Makedonija je razvila biznis zone u kojima investitori imaju po-voljne uslove za poslovanje. Ono na čemu se posebno fokusiraju je otvaranje domaćih biznisa u okviru ovih zona.

- Smatram da rast treba temeljiti na realnom sektoru, a ne na jav-nim investicijama – kazao je Bekteshi.

Što se tiče regionalne saradnje, ministar između ostalog ističe uvođenje One Stop Shopa sa Srbijom, te naglašava da je u toku unapređenje saobraćajne infrastrukture prema Bugarskoj i Srbiji. Založio se za stvaranje regionalne ekonomske zone na Zapadnom Balkanu koja bi povećala konkurentnost ekonomija ovog prostora. Jedino su Makedonija, Crna Gora i Moldavija ispoštovali obaveze CEFTA sporazuma, naglašava on.

- Mi u regionu moramo snažiti uzajamno povjerenje i dati prioritet ekonomskim vezama – zaključio je Bekteshi.

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Smanjiti administraciju i sivu ekonomiju

Privređivati na Balkanu - prednosti, nedostaci i preporuke

Kompanije se moraju prilagoditi savremenim trendovima, investirati u razvoj kadrova i sistemski voditi poslove.

Završni panel je okupio osnivače i direktore najvećih kompa-nija iz Regiona, koji su svojim poslovanjem prevazišli naci-onalne okvire.

O tome kako ocjenjuju uslove privređivanja, šta smatraju predno-stima regiona, a u čemu vide nedostatke, te koje su njihove prepo-ruke donosiocima odluka, govorili su Dragan Bokan, predsjednik Odbora direktora crnogorskog Voli tradea, Suad Ećo, direktor bo-sanskohercegovačke Ećo company, Gazmend Abrashi, predsje-dnik Uprave kosovske Exclusive Group, Svetozar Janevski, preds-jednik Upravnog odbora makedonskog Tikveša, Anton Papež, direktor Interenergo iz Slovenije i Miodrag Kostić, predsjednik MK Group, Srbija.

Moderator posljednjeg panela bio je dekan Ekonomskog fakulteta Univerziteta Crne Gore prof. dr Nikola Milović.

Dragan Bokan je kazao da je u Crnoj Gori dobar ambijent za poslo-vanje te da ovdje "vrijedi potrošiti sredstva, znanje i energiju".

On smatra da se tržište brzo mijenja, te da nosioci biznisa moraju adekvatno odgovoriti tom izazovu.

- Moramo se prilagoditi trendovima i raditi na sebi. Ne može se po-slovati kao prije deset godina. Moramo investirati u razvoj kadrova i sistemski voditi poslove – poručuje Bokan.

On smatra da je crnogorsko tržište najotvorenije na Balkanu. Sma-tra da je problematično što regionalni brendovi koji ovdje posluju samo žele da prodaju robu, ne ulažući u razvoj proizvodnih djela-tnosti.

- Moramo da lobiramo i dovedemo krupne "igrače" koji će pomoći razvoju crnogorske privrede – rekao je Bokan.

Prvi čovjek Volija je kazao da je ova kompanija spremna za po-slovanje van Crne Gore, ali da je to teško realizovati. Smatra da je najveći zadatak pred Vladom dalja borba protiv sive ekonomije.

Suad Ećo smatra da je potrebno razvijati saradnju u Regionu i kon-kurentnost. Nužno je, između ostalog, međusobno priznati ateste i sertifikate da se roba ne bi dugo zadržavala na granicama.

- Moramo imati proizvode koji su inovativni, originalni i sa doda-tnom vrijednošću. Tek kada to postignemo, možemo izaći na trži-šte EU – rekao je Ećo.

Dodao je da je privredi za to potrebna i pomoć država.

- Država treba da stvori ambijent bez ekonomske neizvesnosti – smatra on.

Prema njegovim riječima, država takođe treba da smanji stopu do-prinosa na zarade zaposlenih, i tvrdi da je njena visina jedan od uzroka sive ekonomije.

Govoreći o problemu odliva stručnih kadrova, Ećo je rekao da oni odlaze zbog kvalitetnijeg života i ekonomske sigurnosti.

Gazmend Abrashi je istakao važnost najavljenih investicija u in-frastrukturu.

- Veliki sam optimista zbog investicija koje će se realizovati u Re-gionu u naredne četiri godine koje će nam pomoći da se razvojem približimo EU. Svi veći centri Zapadnog Balkana trebalo bi da se tješnje povežu novim saobraćajnicama do 2022. godine – rekao je Abrashi, podsjećajući da se očekuje i rekonstrukcije regionalnih željezničkih trasa, te izgradnja gasovoda IAP.

Predložio je osnivanje zajedničke agencije za promociju investi-cija u Regionu, koja će najvećim investitorima predočiti brojne povoljnosti za ulaganje u poslovanje na našem području. On ocje-njuje da sve što se proizvodi u trećim zemljama može da se uradi i u Jugoistočnoj Evropi.

Vojo Banović, direktor Jadroagent iz Bara, pitao je Abrashija šta je potrebno uraditi da bi kosovski privrednici više koristili Luku Bar za svoje potrebe, na što mu je odgovoreno da je preduslov za to izgradnja putnih pravaca koji će unaprijediti saobraćajnu vezu između dvije države, među kojima su tunel na putu Peć-Rožaje, saobraćajnica Dečane-Plav i željeznička pruga Bijelo Polje-Bera-ne-Peć.

Svetozar Janevski smatra da se odliv kadrova može suzbiti samo novim investicijama.

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- Samo investicije otvaraju budućnost za mlade ljude na našim prostorima – kaže on.

U suprotnom, smatra, postoji opasnost da odliv kadrova bude još mnogo veći kada se Region integriše u EU. Digitalizacija poslo-vanja može dijelom da supstituiše manjak stručnog kadra, mišljenja je.

Govoreći o konkurentnosti, on je insistirao na tome da domaće firme moraju imati do-bar marketing da bi se njihovi kvalitetni proizvodi dobro plasirali na tržištu.

Anton Papež je osnovao Intereg 2005. kada je, kako kaže, shvatio da za dobar biznis uopšte nije neophodno zaposliti mnogo ljudi. Oni prvi u Evropi imali virtualnu hi-drocentralu zasnovanu na elektronskim sistemima.

- Informacione tehnologije su vrijedne onoliko koliko se pomoću njih može poslo-va završiti. To su moćni alati koji pružaju velike mogućnosti, ali nije dovoljno imati ih za uspješno poslovanje, već su potrebni znanje i kvalitetni projekti – rekao je Pa-pež.

Što se tiče razvoja biznisa u Regionu, on naglašava da je potrebno najprije uspješno poslovati u svom okruženju.

- Treba misliti globalno ali raditi lokalno – naglasio je Papež

Region mora raditi na svojoj konkurentno-sti i to će privući strani kapital ali i vratiti mlade koji su napustili svoje države. To je po njegovom mišljenju glavni zadatak ze-malja Zapadnog Balkana.

Miodrag Kostić ocjenjuje da za biznis da-nas nije dovoljno imati znanje, hrabrost i energičnost.

- Potrebno je znanje pretvoriti u vještinu a nju u uspjeh koji će trajati – kaže Kostić.

Smatra da se ne može mnogo toga danas napraviti bez regionalnog širenja i povezi-vanja.

- Moramo da budemo najbolji u zemlji, pa u regiji i tek onda da se dokažemo na trećem tržištu – kazao je Kostić.

On je okarakterisao sivu ekonomiju kao jedan od tegova na nogama privrede dok je kao drugi naveo administraciju koja se, prema njegovim riječima, mora smanjiti i unaprijediti.

On je poručio vlasniku Volija Bokanu da se ova kompanija mora širiti van Crne Gore kako bi osigurala razvoj.

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Poslovna zajednica regiona očekuje od donosilaca odluka da i dalje rade na unapređenju poslovnog ambijenta i povećanju efikasnosti administracije na državnom i lokalnom nivou.

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Zapadnom Balkanu potrebna veća ulaganja u kapital, rad i produktivnost

Zaključci i preporuke Konferencije o ekonomiji Montenegro 2018

Prof. dr Nikola Milović, dekan Ekonomskog fakulteta Univer-ziteta Crne Gore kazao je, prezentujući zaključke, da je osma konferencija o ekonomiji, u organizaciji Privredne komore

Crne Gore, pod nazivom "Balkan i Evropska unija - petogodišnji ciklus Berlinskog procesa”, i ove godine opravdala očekivanja. Regionalno okupljanje donosilaca odluka, međunarodnih aktera, akademske zajednice i uspješnih privrednika, pružilo je uvid u ostvarene rezultate u procesu evropskih integracija, ali i perspek-tivu regionalne saradnje i snaženja ekonomskih veza unutar regi-ona u duhu Berlinskog procesa.

"Poruke koje smo mogli da čujemo na svečanom otvaranju Konfe-rencije su ohrabrujuće. Savezni kancelar Austrije g-din Sebastijan Kurz je poručio da će Evropska unija biti kompletna tek kada drža-ve Zapadnog Balkana budu njene članice.

Predsjednik Crne Gore g-din Milo Đukanović je istakao da je uz očuvanje vizije ujedinjene Evrope, pomoć infrastrukturnom razvo-ju Zapadnog Balkana najvažniji doprinos koji EU može dati bržem izlasku iz zaostalosti svake od zemalja našeg regiona.

Predsjednik Privredne komore Crne Gore, g-din Vlastimir Golubo-vić je poručio da su regionu potrebne investicije u obrazovanje i infrastrukturu, ali i da je digitalizacija pokretač promjena i napret-ka, te da se digitalna integracija najbolje može postići regionalnom saradnjom.

U okviru 6 panela na kojima je učestvovalo 28 panelista, među ko-jima su bili visoki domaći i strani državni predstavnici, ministri, profesori univerziteta, ugledni privrednici i drugi, iznijeli su svoje stavove, pred više od 800 prisutnih učesnika konferencije.

Tema Konferencije razrađivana je kroz panele: "Ekonomska i evropska perspektiva Balkana”, "Uloga privrednih komora u pro-mociji evropskih vrijednosti i snaženju ekonomskih veza regio-na”, "Međunarodne finansijske organizacije i investitori – koliko je Balkan spreman da koristi prilike”, "Zapadni Balkan i Evropska unija - perspektive”, "Regionalna saradnja kao segment evropskih integracija / ekonomija – generator ukupnog razvoja”, "Privređiva-ti na Balkanu – prednost, nedostaci i preporuke”, rekao je Milović.

Zaključci:

• Konferencija je stvorila mogućnost za konstruktivnu raspra-vu, pregled postignutog u procesu pridruživanja Evropskoj uniji, popis onoga što nas na tom putu očekuje i na taj način otvorila prostor za traženje odgovora na krucijalna politička, ekonomska i socijalna pitanja regiona Zapadnog Balkana.

• Petogodišnji Berlinski proces je izuzetno važna inicijativa za Zapadni Balkan kojom se ubrzalo prevazilaženje ograniče-nja realizacijom održivih projekata od zajedničkog interesa.

• Berlinski proces počeo je kao diplomatska inicijativa ali danas u sadržaju i duhu ima uglavnom ekonomska pitanja. Kroz ovaj proces smo došli do veoma važnog dokumenta – Akcionog plana koji treba da obezbijedi implementaciju po-vezivanja.

• Sve države regiona iz Berlinskog procesa već su do sada ostvarile određene koristi pri čemu je Crna Gora, iako najma-nja ekonomija, povukla najviše novca.

• Poslovna zajednica regiona očekuje od donosilaca odluka da i dalje rade na unapređenju poslovnog ambijenta, uklanjanju netarifnih barijera u međunarodnoj trgovini i povećanju efi-kasnosti administracije na državnom i lokalnom nivou;

• Privredne komore država od ključnog su značaja na ekonom-skom putu i uklanjanju barijera za evropsko tržište.

• Petogodišnji ciklus Berlinskog procesa je pokazao izuzetnu ulogu privrednih komora za evropeizaciju Balkana i podršku kompanijama za usvajanje evropskih standarda

• Iako je region stvorio fiskalne olakšice za investitore ipak vladavina prava i poboljšanje infrastrukrukture moraju pra-titi te olakšice.

• Zemljama Zapadnog Balkana je potrebno 33 godine da dosti-gnu nivo Unije ako proces bude napredovao ovom dinami-kom.

• Kvalitet i kvantitet javne infrastrukture na Zapadnom Balka-nu nije na zadovoljavajućem nivou i pored regionalnih ini-

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cijativa.

• Povećanje javne infrastrukture treba uglavnom finansirati iz spoljnih izvora pod koncesionim uslovima.

• Migranti sa Zapadnog Balkana su mlađi i bolje obrazovani, oko 4,4 miliona je napustilo ove prostore što godišnje sma-njuje stopu rasta za 0.6-0.9 procentnih poena.

• Učešće Zapadnog Balkana u globalnim vrijednosnim lanci-ma (GVC) se mora poduprijeti strukturnim reformama, infra-strukturom i obrazovanjem.

• Regata mora biti princip koji se poštuje za pristup zemalja Zapadnog Balkana Evropskoj uniji .

• Od obnove nezavisnosti 2006. godine, Crna Gora je igrala proevropsku i konstruktivnu ulogu na Balkanu, zato je važno zadržati stečenu poziciju.

• Ulazak u NATO smanjuje rizik ulaganja što mijenja struktu-ru investitora i u zemlje Zapadnog Balkana dovodi poželjne investiture.

• Države Regiona ulažu napore u strukturne reforme u cilju do-stizanja evropskih standarda.

Preporuke:

• Otvaranjem poglavlja radi se na promjenama u društvu. Ze-mlje kandidati ne treba da trče trku sa rokom učlanjenja.

Evropska perspektiva ne predstavlja članstvo, već evropske vrijednosti.

• Potrebno je jačati infrastrukturu ali i administrativne kapa-citete kako bi iskoristili razvojne potencijale.

• Politika treba da bude u funkciji ekonomskog razvoja i sa-radnje.

• Zapadni Balkan mora nastaviti da implementira reforme ukoliko želi da dostigne dohodak koji imaju zemlje EU.

• Potrebno je očuvati postojeći nivo stabilnosti da bi ekonomi-ja dobila na prilici.

• Zapadnom Balkanu je potrebno veće ulaganje u kapital, rad i produktivnost.

• Korišćenje drugih izvora eksternog finansiranja treba urav-notežiti sa rizikom kreiranja novog duga, posebno u slučaju javno-privatnih parnerstava.

• Zemlje Zapadnog Balkana moraju značajno više raditi na unutrašnjoj institucionalnoj izgradnji, najprije u vidu stroge primjene vladavine prava i veće demokratizacije.

• Povećati napore za smanjenje političkih barijera, što je nu-žan preduslov integracije Zapadnog Balkana.

• Povjerenje koje međusobno grade zemlje Zapadnog Balkana potrebno je pretvoriti u realne ekonomske koristi.

• Iako je podrška u Regiona po pitanju pridruživanja EU velika

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(više od 60%), potrebno je efikasno im-plementirati komunikacionu strate-giju u cilju boljeg upoznavanja građa-na sa svim koristima koje će imati od pristupanja Uniji.

• IPA 3 će realno biti veća 13% u MFF 2021-2027. S obzirom na to da u fon-dovima predpristupne pomoći 3 (IPA 3) ne postoji fiksna alokacija sredsta-va, potrebno je pokazati spremnost za povlačenje više sredstava za projekte.

• Zemlje regiona očekuju da će im biti dodijeljene rezervne poslaničke stoli-ce u Evropskom parlamentu

• Glavni preduslov povezivanja zemalja Zapadnog Balkana i njihovog rasta i razvoja je poštovanje onoga što je po-tpisano. Infrastrukturnom, ekonom-skom i svakom drugom povezivanju mora prethoditi poštovanje potpisa-nih političkih deklaracija.

• Evidentno je odsustvo partnerstva među kompanijama iz Regiona Zapa-dnog Balkana.

• Umrežavanje kompanija sa Balkana može značajno doprinijeti povećanju

regionalne konkuretnosti, u skladu sa smjernicama Berlinskog procesa.

• Otvorenost tržišta je važna ali je po-trebno stvoriti uslove za investicije, umjesto samo plasiranja proizvoda i izvlačenja novca.

• Preduslov za izlazak na svjetsko tr-žište je biti najbolji u svojoj državi i regionu.

• Infrastrukturno povezivanje zemalja

Zapadnog Balkana će doprinijeti ra-zvoju biznisa.

• Potrebno je uskladiti obrazovni sis-tem i tržište rada, kao jednu od mjera smanjenja odliva kadra.

• Među najvažnijim potezima koje bi države mogle da naprave u cilju pod-sticanja biznis okruženja su suzbija-nje sive ekonomije i podizanje nivoa konkurentnosti.

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The Balkans and European Union – a five-year cycle of the Berlin process

Economic Conference Montenegro 2018

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Regional gathering provided an insight into the results achieved in the process of the European integrations as well as the prospects of regional cooperation and strengthening the economic ties within the region in the spirit of the Berlin Process.

The eight edition of the Economic Conference Montenegro 2018 orga-nized by the Chamber of Economy

of Montenegro took place in Budva on 25-26 October 2018. This is one of the most important economic events in the region, which this year was attended by more than 850 participants, including decision ma-kers, representatives of the business com-munity and the academia of the Western Balkans, as well as international instituti-ons.

The organizers of the Conference on "The Balkans and European Union – a five-ye-ar cycle of the Berlin process" wanted to provide contribution to the strengthening of the regional cooperation and the further process of the European integrations in this region.

The results of the Berlin process achieved so far, as well as vision of the future of the Balkans and the progress of the reforms, which will integrate the Region into the European Union, were discussed within the six panels by the prime ministers and high-level government officials in the re-gion, relevant ministers, representatives of the European Commission, the European and Balkan chamber associations, inter-national financial institutions and inve-stors, chief negotiators in the integration process, and the heads of companies that achieve outstanding business results.

The Conference was opened by Vlastimir Golubović, the President of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, Sebastian Kurz, the Chancellor of the Republic of Austria - the country chairing the Council of the European Union and the President of Mon-tenegro, Milo Đukanović.

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The Western Balkans aimed at becoming a part of the EU

Vlastimir Golubović, President of the CEM

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The region needs investments in education and infrastructure. Digitization is a driver of changes and progress and regional cooperation is the best way to achieve a digital integration.

The President of the Montenegrin Chamber Vlastimir Golu-bović says that the Berlin process had a useful role during the stagnation period in the enlargement process, because

it helped in preserving the euro-optimism in our region and pro-moting regional cooperation as a key component of the European integrations.

- However, this process is not and cannot be an alternative to the process of the European integrations nor a compensation for the subsequent accession, but only a way to increase the capacity of the region in order to meet the criteria for full membership as soon as possible. The main objective of the Western Balkans is to beco-me part of the economic union, which, through regional networ-king, has grown into the European Union - the richest and most dynamic single market in the world - said Golubović.

He recalled that long before the Berlin process, the chambers in the Balkans had worked on establishing business relations, thus gradually changing the image of the region, and insisted on emphasizing the economic issues important for the economy and everyday life of the citizens. They were aware that the long-term economic and business plans cannot be developed without a pre-dictable and responsible guidelines followed by the entire society.

Therefore, he stresses, it is extremely important that high-level officials of the European Union and the Western Balkans are at-tending the Conference as the business community in the region expects support to dynamic alignment with European standards, in order to create the stable and stimulating environment for the economic activities and economic growth.

According to the President of the Chamber, most Balkan econo-mies faces inadequate infrastructure, low competitiveness and productivity, lagging behind in technology, low capital accumula-tion, poor export potentials. Prior to joining the European Union, Ireland, the Mediterranean countries or Central Europe dealt with the similar problems. Clear and solid mechanisms of regional poli-cy within the European Union, structural and cohesion funds pro-vided the new members with the rapid development, which has attracted significant foreign investments, he said.

- It would be very important for the Western Balkans to have the opportunity before the official accession to use more European mechanisms, which imply stronger financial support. The We-stern Balkans is lagging behind Europe in all segments, but the most striking gap is undevelopment of our transport and energy infrastructure, which make up the backbone of any economy. Ge-nerous financial incentives would result in the Balkans’ gradual alignment of the economic and social development with the EU average - said Golubović.

He added that during 2007-2013 the European Union allocated 269 billion EUR to help the less developed countries and regions, while nine billion EUR were allocated to the Western Balkans from 2007 to 2017. In 2018 the Balkans will receive one billion euros, while 6.8

billion will be allocated only to Bulgaria for the same period.

- The region needs investments in education and science, beca-use cheap labour force is no longer a competitive advantage, but the qualified one. It is estimated that 4.4 million people left the Western Balkans in less than 20 years, which represents a clear signal that we must work on the mobilization of all creative poten-tials, reform of the education system, encouraging private sector and innovation in order to make our countries and the region a promising place to live in and work - said the Chamber’s President.

According to him, digitization is a main driver of changes and progress. If we want to create a better future, we cannot miss the opportunity for the digital integration, which can be best accom-plished through regional cooperation. Reducing operating costs, free and unlimited access to the global market and digital innova-tion, are the benefits that market digitization bring to small eco-nomies.

- The European integrations are a complex and long reform pro-cess, but also the historic right of the people from the Balkans to live in the safe and prosperous environment, which is symbolized by the European community of states and peoples. The Western Balkan countries should be aware that they will be the most im-portant allies to each other on that road. In reaching the European standards they need to take into consideration a healthy compe-tition, since the countries of region will not join the Union alto-gether, as it was announced, but the individual merits of each co-untry will determine the final success in the European road - said Vlastimir Golubović.

Then he presented the panels: "Economic and European perspecti-ves of the Balkans”, "Role of chambers of commerce in promoting European values and strengthening economic relations in the re-gion", "International financial organizations and investors – rea-diness of the Balkans to take opportunities", "2014-2018 Western Balkans and European Union perspectives", "Regional cooperation as a segment of European integrations/economy - a generator of the overall development", "Doing business in the Balkans – advan-tages, disadvantages and recommendations".

Mr. Golubović reminded that this year is a very important for the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, which celebrates nine deca-des of its operations.

- During its long tradition the Chamber and the business commu-nity have left an indelible trace in creating economic history of Montenegro, as today we also strive to contribute to the quality and progress of the current economic prospects. I would like to wish warm welcome to the former presidents of the Chamber, who are attending the Conference. I also take this opportunity to express special gratitude to Mr. Velimir Mijušković, who laid foun-dations to this Conference, says Golubović.

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EU incomplete without the Region

Sebastian Kurz, Federal Chancellor of Austria

The Austrian Federal Chancellor Se-bastian Kurz expressed his satis-faction with participation in the

high-level economic conference in Budva. He recalled on the close cultural, political, economic and other links between Austria and the Region and stressed that Austrian companies are among the largest investors in this area.

- The European Union will be complete when all countries of the region become its members. The Western Balkans is crucial for the stability of the EU. The interest of the European Union is to integrate the regi-on into its community - said Kurz.

He has pointed out that the Region is on the right track for integrations. A new dynamic was created in this process during the Bul-garian and Austrian EU Presidency. The Berlin process has contributed to further progress in regional cooperation.

The Western Balkans is crucial for the stability of the EU. The interest of the European Union is to integrate this region into its community, said Sebastian Kurz.

- The European perspective of the Western Balkans is now much better and Montene-gro and Serbia are forefronters regarding the number of the open chapters in the negotiations with the EU - said the Chan-cellor.

According to him, the key processes expec-ted in the region are the continuation of di-alogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as Macedonia and Greece. The Chan-cellor is optimistic about the progress of Kosovo as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Both the EU and the countries of the regi-on need to provide contribution to the Eu-ropean integrations. The Western Balkans should consequently implement reforms in order to maintain the level of economic growth, while the EU needs to support this process through investments in the region - said Kurz, noting that the EU has helped creation of about 250.000 jobs in the Bal-kans.

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Each and every one of us needs to work more and faster on boosting competitiveness. EU integrations and the Berlin process play a crucial role in this aspect.

Structural reforms and strengthening the competitiveness of the Region are imperatives

Milo Đukanović, President of Montenegro

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Montenegro remains fully committed to regional coopera-tion and economic integrations, and continues the pro-cess of introducing the European standards. It firmly be-

lieves in the common interests and affirmation of common values, said the President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović.

- In this respect our achievements will defend us against those who would like to bring Montenegro and the Western Balkans back to the past, where we count on the unequivocal and conti-nuous support of the EU - said Đukanović.

According to him, it is very important to continue the implemen-tation of structural reforms and strengthening the competitive-ness of the region.

- The certain achievements have been made, as evidenced by Montenegro’s progress for two positions in the latest report of the World Economic Forum. The progress was achieved by Serbia and Albania as well, but this is not enough - said Đukanović.

He believes that it is essential that everyone works harder and fa-ster in order to raise the competitiveness, but the European inte-grations and the Berlin process have a special role in this respect.

According to him, the Berlin process represents an important up-grade of the EU policy towards the region, which should contribute to the simplification of economic cooperation and more dynamic process of the European integrations.

Thanks to the Bulgarian presidency, close attention and a specific impulse were given to the infrastructure connections in the We-stern Balkans.

- Grant of over 180 million euros was allocated to the Region. The list, awaiting for formal budgeting, also includes two projects from Montenegro, i.e. part of the Adriatic-Ionian fast road and rail route Bar-Vrbnica - Đukanović said.

He believes that assistance to infrastructural development of the Western Balkans is the most important contribution the EU can provide to a faster way out of the underdevelopment of each co-untry in the region.

- That would be the most convincing response to the controversy regarding the presence of investors from third countries, which we were often criticized for by some important European institu-tions - said Đukanović.

He believes that trade and infrastructure integration among the countries of the region and between the Western Balkans and the EU, cannot be sufficient, nor a substitute for political integration in the EU.

The Montenegrin President says that it is necessary to promote policies aimed at productivity growth, increase of the number of high-quality jobs, and reducing poverty, unemployment and work in the informal sector.

- It is important to devote our efforts to creating conditions for in-clusive and sustainable development of the whole region – Đuka-nović concluded.

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Montenegro is not aimed at joining the EU as soon as possible in order to be called a member, but at taking over and implementing the European values, said the Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković .

We will join the European Unionbefore 2025

Economic and European perspectives of the Balkans

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Business community of the Region expects decision makers to keep working on improving the business environment, removing non-tariff barriers in mutual trade and increasing

the efficiency of the administration at the state and local level, in order to create conditions for increasing the trade volume and the development of overall economic relations. The plans of the go-vernments in the region with respect to these issues were discus-sed during the panel on "Economic and European perspective of the Balkans”. The messages on this topic were conveyed by the Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković, the Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj, the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajić and the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia Kocho Angjushev.

Christian Wehrschütz, ORF journalist from Austria moderated this panel.

The Montenegrin Prime Minister Duško Marković expressed his gratitude towards the Chamber for organizing the Conference,

which, according to him, represents an important platform for pro-viding a response to the key question - how to improve the quality of citizens’ life.

He has said that in the last 30 years, the Western Balkans has never been in a better position and its European perspective has never been so certain. The Prime Minister added that this road is paved with a number of risks and challenges, political instability and populist ideas, trade tensions between the great powers.

- In such circumstances we have been implementing the Euro-pean agenda. We opened 31 chapters in negotiations with the EU and temporarily closed three. This is not a technical, but essential process, because it leads to changes in our society - said Marković.

According to him, the goal of Montenegro is not to join the EU as soon as possible so as to be called a member, but wants to adopt and implement European values. He announced that by the end of the year chapter 27 will be opened and the process of closing all

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chapters will be much easier and faster.

- We'll be an EU member state before or maybe in 2025 - said Mar-ković.

He has said that since 2007 the EU allocated 700 million EUR for Montenegro and over 240 million for infrastructure, which provi-ded a significant contribution to the economic growth.

He believes that all the countries of the region have benefited from the Berlin process, which has strengthened the confidence among the countries, but it is necessary to remove the barriers, which slow down the integration processes. They include the non-tariff and administrative barriers to free movement of goods.

- We need to strengthen the infrastructure as well as administrati-ve capacities in order to take advantage of development potentials - said Marković.

According to him, CEFTA is the basis of the Connectivity Agenda of this area, but there are problems for its full implementation. He said that CEFTA contributed to the growth of trade with the EU, but the trade exchange between the Parties has a downward trend.

The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Rasim Ljajić believes that the Region is far away from the EU. According to him, the success of the integration is not measured with opening and closing chap-ters.

- Region still suffers from chronic problems: unresolved political issues, lagging behind in technology and outflow of the qualified workforce. We do not have many reasons to be optimistic about the European process, especially if we take into consideration the migrant crisis, Bregzit and other challenges we cannot exert im-pact on. As the French President Emanuel Macron said, Europe cannot be bigger before it becomes stronger - said Ljajić.

He added that the region lags behind the EU for 30 years in terms of technology, and we need 35 years to reach the level of infra-structural development. According to him, it is concerning that the number of educated people leaving the Western Balkan countries is by 6 times higher in comparison to other regions in the world.

- Nationalism in society, populism in politics and communism in economy are the key reasons due to which we are lagging behind the European Union, concluded Ljajić.

He pointed out that the Berlin process contributed to approaching the countries of the region, and best targeted a key challenge in this area, relating to young people and the economy. However he said that the slow implementation has had a bad impact on the well-conceived concept that should contribute to the opening of 200,000 jobs and GDP growth in the Balkans.

- Unless the Region starts establishing infrastructural links faster, I am afraid that the Berlin process is to become another initiative which has not yielded results - said Ljajić.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia Kocho Angjushev thinks that the Balkans should stop "producing more history than it can consume”.

- It is our tasks to create international cooperation in order to con-tribute to the economic development and prosperity of citizens – says Angjushev.

He also emphasized the problem of the customs barriers between

the countries in the Balkans.

- Why should we build roads, which will shorten the distance bet-ween our countries if our trucks are still waiting for seven hours at the border crossings? It is necessary to agree on mutual recogni-tion of documents such as certificates and declarations accom-panying the goods, and to eliminate double activities performed by the customs controls. The Western Balkans is part of Europe, and all the pessimism towards integration will disappear if we de-velop cooperation. The most opportunities in this respect are pro-vided in energy and agriculture, thinks the Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia.

He believes that the Region cannot be competitive with the EU un-til the highest level of technology isn’t reached and stressed a lar-ge discrepancy between the resources allocated for the promotion of innovation by the countries of the region and the EU.

He said that the Berlin process is useful from the political and eco-nomic aspects. Thanks to grants, it made the infrastructure pro-jects more attractive to financiers.

- We cannot expect Brussels to solve all our problems, we have to make an effort - Angjushev said, adding that the countries of the region should not perceive each other as competitors, but as par-tners.

The Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj talked about the progress of the business environment of the youngest country of the Balkans and Europe, which has the lowest public debt and sti-mulating tax policy.

- We are not pessimistic about European road of Kosovo. It is not our aim to be late to the EU and we don’t want other countries in the region to wait because of us - said Haradinaj.

Speaking of relations in the region, he has said that Serbia should change its attitude about Kosovo and thus solve the last pending issue of its progress in the EU.

- Serbian politics hasn’t still recognized us, but the economy has, as companies from this country export goods worth $ 500 million to Kosovo - said Haradinaj.

Vice President Ljajić responded that Kosovo represents an im-portant market, although not the largest in the region for Serbian products. The aim is to increase placement of Serbian goods to Ko-sovo and vice versa.

Haradinaj stressed the need to improve infrastructure between Montenegro and Kosovo in order to speed up the flow of goods. He recognizes that the customs administration and the lack of One Stop Shop slow down the trade between countries and announced that this issue will be addressed to Albania by the end of the year, and to other countries in the region in the forthcoming period.

Speaking about the outflow of skilled workers, Haradinaj says that Kosovo faces this problem as well, but it is not as present as in other countries. He emphasizes the need to work on liberalization of the visa regime for the citizens of the region.

Within the panel, the Minister of Science Sanja Damjanović pre-sented the South-East Europe International Institute for Sustaina-ble Technologies (SEEIIST).

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EU is the best solution for regional prosperity

Chambers’ role in promoting European values and strengthening economic relations in the region

The improvement of economic ties and the promotion of European va-lues in the Balkans and Europe in

general are not possible to discuss without highlighting the role of the chambers of commerce. The chambers across Europe have an irreplaceable role in establishing the environment favourable for the deve-lopment of business and improving the competitiveness of the economy, creating the educational system in line with the requirements of the labour market, conduc-ting the economic diplomacy and creating a sound economic and social dialogue. The Western Balkan chambers are dedicated to fulfilling these tasks the same way as the related associations of the most developed countries do. The Chambers learn from each other, link the national economies and promote the importance of reaching the European standards and values.

This topic was discussed by the leaders of the most important international chamber associations: Arnaldo Abruzzini, Mana-ging Director of the Association of Europe-

for EU funds in the interest of economy, mostly relating to education.

- Joining the European Union is impor-tant, because it gives stability and peace, which are prerequisites for economic de-velopment particularly in countries where tourism provides a significant contribution to GDP - said the Čagalj.

According to her, the benefits of joining the EU are significant, because it is a very big market, where it is easier to do business. She has said that following the EU acces-sion, part of the national identity is lost at first, but later on, residents become aware of the traditional values and strives to keep them, as it is done in Croatia through the projects "Let’s Buy Croatian” etc. Ms. Čagalj emphasized the role of the chambers in the integration process.

- It is the Chambers that facilitate the country’s accession to the European Union, present the identified barriers to the gover-nments and participate in their eliminati-on - said the president of the AIC Forum.

an Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambres), Tamer Kiran, Vice Presi-dent of the Union of Chambers and Com-modity Exchanges of Turkey, Mirjana Ča-galj, President of the Forum of Adriatic and Ionian Chambers (AIC Forum) and Marko Čadež, Chairman of the Western Balkans Six Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF).

The panel was moderated by Safet Gerx-halliu, Secretary General of the CIF, who extended congratulations to the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro for the organi-zation of the event, which aims to promote cooperation and partnerships in the regi-on. He spoke about the role of chambers of commerce in laying the foundation for economic development in the region, and urged decision-makers to perceive these associations as partners.

President of the AIC Forum Mirjana Čagalj has put the emphasis on inter-chamber cooperation within the Adriatic-Ionian Fo-rum. She mentioned a number of joint pro-jects through which the chambers apply

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Arnaldo Abruzzini, Eurochambres, has said that dialogue, cooperation and understan-ding can lead to a better life. These are the principles which the European Union and Eurochambres are based on.

- I do not know of a better strategy leading to the prosperity of the citizens of the one offered by the European Union to this re-gion, which is based on the dialogue - said Abruzzini.

Then he spoke about the impact of Euroc-hambres on decision-makers in Brussels and stressed that their aim is to protect the interests of the members i.e. business communities throughout Europe.

- If we manage to achieve the interests of the business community, we can say that we have been effective - concluded Abru-zzini.

Tamer Kiran, TOBB said that in 1959 Turkey applied for EU membership and it is still waiting to become a member. He advised the Western Balkans to be patient in the

ted out their great lagging behind the EU.

- Our perception of the Balkans is far wor-se than of the people beyond the region, he says.

Speaking about the issue of the educated labour force leaving the region, Čadež said that this represents a big challenge, becau-se it has never been easier to get residence and work permits in the EU. According to him, the development of dual education is aimed at providing employers with lacking professional staff.

He stressed that CEFTA Protocol No. 7, re-ferring to labour mobility, has not been si-gned yet.

- We cannot resolve the problem with the labour force until we facilitate the mobility among our countries and match the educa-tion system with the needs of the economy - said Marko Čadež.

The problem of the labour force can be solved with increase of the mobility among the countries of the region and the creation of the education system matching the needs of the economy.

process. However, Turkey has a customs union with the EU.

Foreign trade between Turkey and the EU amounts to 150 billion EUR per year. Turkey exports 45 percent of goods in the EU, whi-le import from that region to Turkey is 38 per cent of the total import of this country.

- Relations between Turkey and the EU are under discussion for a long time, but like most aspiring countries Turkey sees its future in the European Union, because we share its values - said Kiran.

The CIF Chairman and President of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Indu-stry Marko Čadež said that we live in un-certain times, when it is not easy to predict how the Region is to cope with numerous challenges. Therefore, regional economic cooperation which promotes competitive-ness, productivity and quality, is of utmost importance.

According to him, the progress of the coun-tries in the region is visible, but also poin-

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The acceleration of the EU integrations through greater participation in global value chains is crucial for the Western Balkan economic growth.

Compared to the end of the last and the beginning of this century the Balkans has made a large step for-

ward in economic terms. The representa-tives of international financial institutions discussed whether the Balkan countries are ready to take the opportunities, becau-se the funding instruments exist, but win-ning them requires certain knowledge and skills.

This topic was discussed by Isabelle Stof-fel, a leading representative of the Euro-pean Investment Bank for the Western Balkans, Zoran Martinovski, Director for Montenegro and Macedonia, IFC, the World Bank, Nadeem Ilahi, IMF Director for Cen-tral, Eastern and South-eastern Europe, Hans-Joachim Heusler, director of Bayern International, and Antonis Semelides, Exe-cutive Director of Jugopetrol.

Panel was moderated by Zorica Kalezić, a member of the Council of the Central Bank of Montenegro, who said that the conver-gence of the Western Balkans according to the EU income is far behind the one achi-eved by the countries that recently joined the Union. According to her, the countries of the region need a series of reforms to speed up the convergence process.

Nadeem Ilahi, the IMF, estimates that the Western Balkans requires more capital and labour force, while the productivity should be increased. The growth in this region is achieved thanks to the public sector in-vestments in infrastructure, which, howe-ver, now faces constraints due to the inc-reased debt.

- Investments must be encouraged from external sources in order not to disturb fi-scal stability. They can be implemented through a public-private partnership, but you need to be careful, because it is a risk - Ilahi said.

He believes that the economy of the We-stern Balkans is closed, and its countries should import, manufacture and export more, and largely participates in the global value chains.

- The acceleration of the EU integrations through greater participation in global va-lue chains is crucial for the growth of the economy of the Western Balkans - said Ilahi.

Since 2000 seven billion EUR have been invested in the Western Balkans by the Eu-ropean Investment Bank, says its represen-tative Isabelle Stoffel.

During 14 years of the activities in the re-gion, the EIB supported the restoration of infrastructure, projects in the fields of edu-cation, health care industry, energy, waste management etc.

- The key topic of the Berlin process is in-vestment in infrastructure. Therefore, we have been involved in these projects from the very beginning - said Stoffel, stating that they provided grants for 150 projects.

She stressed that there are funds for additi-onal investments.

- We need good, financially and technically feasible projects in line with the EU regula-tions. We invite you to apply for these fun-ds - she said.

She also spoke about the activities of the EIB in assisting the development of small and medium enterprises by providing lo-ans to commercial banks, which place the funds to SMEs. For this purpose, 100 milli-on EUR have been allocated to the Western Balkans in the previous period.

Zoran Martinovski, IFC, believes the regi-on needs additional investment, whether public or private. Public investments are limited to the fiscal framework and an al-ternative to this is a public-private partner-ship model, which is most represented in financing the construction of infrastructu-re, health care, education.

- A great scepticism is related to the pu-blic-private partnership. It's like a marriage which can be good or bad, it all depends on partners. The project related to converting waste to energy, which attracted high-qua-lity partners, is implemented in Belgrade - said Martinovski, stating that the IFC will support local and national governments in the implementation of PPP projects.

Hans-Joachim Heusler, Bayern Internati-onal, says he represents a non-profit com-pany owned by the state, which promotes exports.

- We help small and medium-sized enterpri-ses. In Bavaria, there are one million com-panies, a third of which deals with exports. A prerequisite for the further expansion of our companies is skilled labour force whi-ch lacks Bavaria. Unemployment in our co-untry amounts to only three to five percent. Therefore, we want to do business in other regions, and we expect well-educated work force there - said Heusler.

According to him, companies from Bavaria are interested in using the resources from

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Good projects needed for the use of EU funds

International financial organizations and investors – readiness of the Balkans to take opportunities

- If the human resources are not well edu-cated, we cannot do much in this area. Pro-fessional staff is required in companies and the administration. Therefore, educa-tion is essential – Semelides thinks.

He adds that the second parameter is po-litical and financial stability, because no-body wants to invest money in a region characterized by the unpredictable envi-ronment. According to him, other parame-ters include efficiency of the public sector, whose highly professional staff will quic-

agriculture, forestry, mining and fishe-ries. They assess the extent to which the countries i.e. potential partners finalize products in these areas and offer to be the missing link to that process.

Hellenic Petroleum has been operating in the Balkans since 2000, said the Executive Director of Jugopetrol AD Antonis Semeli-des. According to him, before investing in a country each investor requires meeting certain parameters. The most important parameter, he says, is human capital.

kly make business decisions.

- During the Conference, I heard that all Western Balkan countries want to be part of the EU, because they think all business barriers will be removed. My question is: why don’t you eliminate some of them ri-ght away, for example customs barriers and those related to labour mobility - he asked, adding that the Balkans has made significant progress over the last 15 years, but there is a lot of work in the forthco-ming period.

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More dynamic European path for the Region

Western Balkans and the European Union – perspectives

The Conference continued its work on 26th October 2018, with the panel "The Western Balkans and the Euro-

pean Union – Perspectives”.

The representatives of Montenegro in charge of the negotiation process and IPA projects informed the participants of the Conference with the recent developments in the accession process and its signifi-cance. This was discussed by Aleksandar Drljević, Montenegro's chief negotiator for EU membership, and Mrs. Ivana Glišević--Đurović, a national IPA coordinator.

The moderator was prof. PhD. Gordana Đurović.

It is necessary to take advantage of the positive messages from Brussels related to the European perspective of the Western Balkans and continue the reform activities in partnership with the European Commission.

The Chief Negotiator Mr. Drljević said that 2018 is the European year when Montene-gro and the Region are in question.

"This is a milestone when the process of integration is at stake, especially when considering the challenges that the EU is facing, such as the Brexit –said Drljević, adding that strong messages of support to the European aspirations of the countries of the Balkans were sent even from the Conference itself. He reminded that the London Summit put the focus on the We-stern Balkans through concrete infrastruc-ture projects by which better cooperation and communication among its countries is to be ensured.

According to him, Montenegro has made good use of the Bulgarian and Austrian EU Presidency for the realization of specific activities.

- We need to take advantage of the positive messages from Brussels related to the Eu-ropean perspective of the Western Balkans and continue the reform activities in par-tnership with the European Commission- said Drljević.

He believes that in the following period, we need to be focused on a communication strategy in order for the citizens to be even more able to recognize the benefits of the integration in the EU. In Montenegro, he said, around 63 percent of citizens support

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the country's entry into the European Uni-on.

When asked by the moderator Mrs. Gorda-na Đurović whether the countries on the integration path are partners or competi-tors, Mr. Drljević replied that the more sta-tes are progressing in the process, the gre-ater are the benefits for the entire region.

- It is necessary for all the countries to move even more dynamically on the Euro-pean path, which will be good for the entire Western Balkans - said the Chief negotia-tor.

Ivana Glišević-Đurović was talking about utilization of assets from the pre-accession funds. From 2007 to 2013, our country used 96 percent out of EUR 235 million allocated to it by the EU. There were 353 projects in the value of EUR 54 million.

- The new perspective for the period 2014-2020 allocates EUR 270.5 million for the fol-lowing areas: governance democratization,

environmental protection, improvement of transport, education, promotion of emplo-yment, development of agriculture, etc. - she said.

She also emphasized that in 2018, as an award for the successful use of IPA funds and the progress made in the process of the EU accession, Montenegro received eight million Euros which will be used for finan-cing two clinics in Podgorica.

- The novelty in IPA 3 is that there will not be a fixed allocation to countries, but the al-location of funds will depend on how many mature projects we have - said Glišević--Đurović.

She also talked about the utilization of the Western Balkan Investment Framework under the Berlin Process, which allocated 166 million Euros of grant - 121 million for infrastructure, and 45 million for project documentation.

Within the Chapter 22, we are preparing ourselves for the EU Structural Funds, whi-ch will be six to eight times higher than pre-accession support.

The Chief negotiator outlined that good projects are crucial for the successful uti-lization of assets from the pre-accession funds, giving an example of Malta that has managed to attract more money than it was allocated.

- The priority is to continue meeting requi-rements from the negotiating chapters, intensify the negotiation process, open the remaining two chapters and start the process of their closure. Simply, to do eve-rything that is up to us. If we succeed in this, we believe that the principle of the re-gatta for inclusion in the EU will apply to us (that the most successful one will join the European family, regardless of others in the Region) - Drljević said.

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Political stability as a precondition for economic prosperity

Regional cooperation as a segment of European integration/Economy - generator of the overall development

The focus of the panel of the Western Balkans economic mi-nisters was on the ways to improve trade and other forms of cooperation in the region. In which stage is the Region in

terms of the CEFTA Agreement, which is proclaimed as a Europe-an Union antechamber.

On the one hand, there is progress and results that are significant, while on the other there is a number of non-tariff barriers to whi-ch overcoming, according to the opinion of businessmen, they are unjustifiably long awaited.

Dragica Sekulić, the Minister of Economy in the Government of Montenegro, Valdrin Lluka, Minister for Economic Development of the Government of Kosovo, and the Minister of Economy in the Government of Macedonia, Kreshnik Bekteshi, spoke on these is-sues.

Moderator Aleksandar Vlahović, the President of the Serbian As-sociation of Economists, made a cross-section of the state of the economies of the Western Balkans. The region, according to him, is an area with rich potential which is unfortunately untapped. He

said that the most optimistic scenario is that these countries in 40 years (more realistically over six decades) will be at the level of the EU average. The Western Balkans is increasingly listed on the Doing Business and the World Economic Forum, but they have not reached so far an investment rating.

The Montenegrin Minister of Economy Dragica Sekulić said that it is difficult to implement measures of fiscal consolidation while achieving an economic growth. The growth of the Montenegrin economy in 2017 was 4.7 percent, and in the first half the current it was 4.8 percent, not counting the positive impact of the tourist season.

- Montenegro's debt is linked to investments in infrastructure that employs domestic labour and forms the backbone of further eco-nomic development - said Sekulić.

According to her, the Government is acting to stabilize public fi-nances and encourage domestic and foreign investments. In these actions, the Government listens to the needs of the economy and, therefore, said the Minister, the annual analysis carried out in the

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The necessity of strengthening mutual trust in the region and giving priority to economic ties, emphasized by the ministers of economy.

Chamber of Economy represents a kind of guide for writing a pro-gram of its work.

- Economic growth depends on the growth of competitiveness, which can be achieved by the adoption of an appropriate legal framework that contributes to the work of our businessmen - she said.

She assessed that without political stability there is no economic development of both Montenegro and the region. By joining NATO, the profile of investors in Montenegro has changed, given that at the same time the investment risk has also decreased. Also, the fact that our country has moved forward in the process of EU in-tegration is favourable for the investment environment. However, Montenegro as an import dependent country in certain segments is not immune to external negative impacts.

- How to resist it? We must do well what depends on us and thro-ugh structural reforms in the private and public sectors achieve sustainable economic growth - said Dragica Sekulić.

Answering the moderator's question regarding the formation of a

single economic area, Sekulić referred to the CEFTA Agreement that underlies this idea. According to her, it is necessary for CEFTA countries to comply with this Agreement.

- The Berlin process should contribute to our mutual infrastructure connectivity. But it is all in vain to connect each other if we bring regulations that make the flow of goods between the countries more difficult. CEFTA has already created conditions for free trade among the signatories. What is the purpose of new agreements when we do not comply with CEFTA - asked the Minister Sekulić, stressing out that Montenegro complies with all the obligations under this Agreement, it ratified Protocol No. 5, aligned Protocol No. 6, and it is willing to adopt Protocol No. 7 as soon as possible.

She said that it is necessary to remove non-tariff barriers.

- It is useless to have good customs border if the trucks are there for 12 hours, resulting in six percentage points higher logistic costs than in the EU - said Sekulić.

Speaking about the Kosovo’s economy, which was the only one that had no negative growth during the crisis, while in the last year it grew at a rate of 3.8% (4% in the first half of this year), Valdrin Llu-ka said that it is characterized by a low public debt of 16% of GDP, leaving room for the realization of large-scale investments. Posi-tive developments are recorded in the sector of services, however, the problem is low exports.

- Kosovo is working on policies for the revival of the mining sector, which has great export potential. The mine in Trepča could beco-me a key driver of our economy – said Lluka.

Kosovo places hopes in the development of the ICT sector and it will invest significant resources in the optical infrastructure and training of personnel. Also, Kosovo's agrarian sector is becoming more and more attractive, said the minister, and they will work on exporting value-added products, taking Serbia as a model.

According to Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi, Macedonia has recorded good results in terms of employment growth and foreign direct in-vestments, even in the period when it didn’t record GDP growth.

- We and the Chamber of Commerce of Macedonia have developed a plan of economic growth based on three pillars: support to total investments, improvement of the company competitiveness and development of the SME sector - he said.

Macedonia has developed business zones in which investors have favourable business conditions. Their particular focus is on the opening of domestic businesses within these zones.

- I think growth should be based on the real sector, not on public investments - said Bekteshi.

Regarding regional cooperation, the Minister emphasized, inter alia, the introduction of One-Stop Shop with Serbia, outlining that the improvement of the transport infrastructure towards Bulgaria and Serbia is in progress. He pledged to create a regional economic zone in the Western Balkans, which would increase the competiti-veness of the economies of this region. Only Macedonia, Montene-gro and Moldova have complied with the obligations of the CEFTA Agreement, he stressed.

"We in the region need to strengthen mutual trust and give priority to economic relations”, concluded Bekteshi.

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Reduce administration and the gray economy

Doing business in the Balkans - advantages, disadvantages and recommendations

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Companies must adjust to modern trends, invest in the development of human resources, and systematically run business.

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The final panel gathered the founders and directors of the largest compa-nies in the Region, who exceeded

national frameworks with their business. Dragan Bokan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Montenegrin Voli Trade, Suad Ećo, Director of Ećo Company from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gazmend Abra-shi, President of the Managing Board of Kosovo Exclusive Group, Svetozar Jane-vski, President of the Managing Board of Macedonian Tikveš, Anton Papež, Director of Interenergo from Slovenia and Miodrag Kostić, President of MK Group, Serbia were sharing their views on how they assess the conditions for doing business, what they see as advantages of the region, what they see as defects and what are their re-commendations to decision makers. The moderator at the last panel was the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Montenegro, prof. Nikola Milović, PhD.

Dragan Bokan said that Montenegro has good business environment and that it is worth "spending money, knowledge and energy” here.

He thinks that the market is changing ra-pidly, and that business leaders have to re-spond adequately to this challenge.

- We have to adapt to trends and work on ourselves. We cannot do business like ten years ago. Companies must adjust to mo-dern trends, invest in the development of human resources, and systematically run business - said Bokan. He believes that the Montenegrin market is the most open in the Balkans. He thinks that it represents a problem that regional brands doing busi-ness here just want to sell goods without investing in the development of producti-on activities.

- We must lobby and bring here big "pla-yers” who will help the development of the Montenegrin economy - said Bokan.

The first man of Voli Trade said that his company is ready for doing business out-side of Montenegro, but that it is difficult to implement. He thinks that the biggest task ahead of the Government is to continue fi-ghting against gray economy.

Suad Ećo believes that it is necessary to develop cooperation and competitiveness in the region. It is necessary, among other things, to apply mutual recognition of cer-tificates in order to prevent keeping goods too long at border crossing.

- We need to have products that are inno-

vative, original and with added value. Only when we achieve this can we enter the EU market - said Ećo.

He added also that the economy needs the state assistance. "The state should create an environment free of economic uncerta-inty”, he said. According to him, the state should also reduce the contribution rate on earnings of employees, and he claims that its height is one of the causes of the gray economy.

Discussing an issue of the outflow of pro-fessional staff, Ećo said that they are lea-ving because of better quality of life and economic security.

Gazmend Abrashi highlighted the impor-tance of announced investments in infra-structure.

- I’m very optimistic about the investments that will be realized in the Region in the next four years, which will help us move closer to the EU. All the major centres of the Western Balkans should be tied by new roads more closely by 2022 - said Abrashi, reminding that the regional railways are to be reconstructed, including the construc-tion of the IAP gas pipeline. He proposed establishing of a joint investment promo-

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tion agency in the Region, which will in-form the largest investors about a number of advantages of business investing in our region. He estimates that everything that is produced in third countries can also be done in the Southeast Europe.

Vojo Banović, director of Jadroagent from Bar, asked Abrashi what needs to be done to make Kosovo businessmen using more intensively the Port of Bar for their needs. The answer to this question was that the precondition for this is the construction of road routes which will improve the traffic connections between the two countries, including the tunnel on the road Peć-Ro-žaje, the traffic road Dečane-Plav and the railway Bijelo Polje-Berane-Peć.

Svetozar Janevski believes that the out-flow of the skilled workers can be repres-sed only by new investments.

"Only investments open the future for yo-ung people in our region”, he said. Otherwi-se, according to him, there is a danger that the outflow of the skilled workers will be even greater when the region is integrated into the EU. Digitization of business can partially replace the lack of professional

staff, said Janevski.

Speaking of competitiveness, he insisted that domestic companies must have good marketing in order to place their quality products well on the market.

Anton Papež founded Intereg 2005 when, as he said, he realized that for a good bu-siness it is not necessary to hire many pe-ople. They were the first in Europe to have a virtual hydro-power plant based on elec-tronic systems.

- The worth of the information technolo-gies is equal to the quantity of work it can help us finish. These are powerful tools that offer great opportunities, but for a success-ful business it is not enough to have them, instead the knowledge and the quality pro-jects are what counts - said Papež.

Regarding the development of busines-ses in the Region, he emphasizes that it is necessary first to successfully operate in one’s own business environment.

- It is necessary to think globally, but act locally - stressed Papež. The region must work on its competitiveness and attract foreign capital, but also bring back the yo-

ung people who have left their countries. In his opinion, this is the main task of the Western Balkans countries.

Miodrag Kostić estimates that for business today it is not enough to have knowledge, courage and vigour.

- It is necessary to transform knowledge into a skill and the skill to success that will last - said Kostić.

He believes that it cannot get much done today without regional expansion and in-tegration.

"We have to be the best in the country, after that in the region and only then we should prove ourselves in the third markets” - Ko-stić said.

He characterized the gray economy as one of the weights on the feet of the economy while, as another obstacle, he mentioned administration which, in his words, must be reduced and improved.

His advice to the owner of Voli Trade was to expand his company outside Montenegro in order to ensure development.

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The Western Balkans needs greater investments in capital, labour and productivity

Conclusions and recommendations from the Economic Conference Montenegro 2018

The business community in the region expects from the decision-makers to continue improving the business environment and increasing the efficiency of the administration at the state and local level.

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PhD. Nikola Milović, Dean of the Fa-culty of Economics at the University of Montenegro, said that the eighth

economic conference, organized by the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, enti-tled "The Balkans and the European Union – a five-year cycle of the Berlin process”, justified expectations even this year. The regional gathering of decision-makers, in-ternational actors, academic community and successful businessmen provided an insight into the achieved results in the pro-cess of European integration, as well as the perspective of regional cooperation and the strengthening of economic ties within the region in the spirit of the Berlin Process.

The President of the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, Mr. Vlastimir Golubović, said that the region needs investments in education and infrastructure, but that digi-talization is also the driving force for chan-ge and progress, and that digital integrati-on can best be achieved through regional cooperation.

In the framework of the Panel 6, 28 panel-lists, including high-level local and foreign state representatives, ministers, universi-ty professors, distinguished businessmen and others, presented their views to over 800 Conference participants.

The topic of the Conference was elaborated through the panels: "Economic and Euro-pean Perspective of the Balkans”, "The role of chambers of commerce in promoting European values and strengthening econo-mic relations in the Region”, "International financial organizations and investors – Re-adiness of the Balkans to take opportuni-ties”, "Western Balkans and European Uni-on – perspectives”, "Regional cooperation as a segment of European integrations/economy – a generator of the overall de-velopment”, "Doing business in the Balkans – advantages, disadvantages and recom-mendations”, Milović said.

Conclusions:

• The Conference has created an oppor-tunity for a constructive discussion, an overview of the achievements in the process of joining the European Union, listed what we can expect on this path, and thus opened up a space for seeking answers to the crucial po-litical, economic and social issues of the Western Balkans region.

• The five-year Berlin Process is an extremely important initiative for the Western Balkans, which accelerated the overcoming of constraints in the realization of sustainable projects of common interest.

• The Berlin Process began as a diplo-matic initiative, but today it has mo-stly economic issues in content and spirit. Through this process we have come up with a very important docu-ment - the Action Plan that is expec-ted to ensure the connectivity imple-mentation.

• All the countries of the region from the Berlin Process have already achi-

"The messages we could hear at the ope-ning ceremony of the Conference are enco-uraging. The Austrian Federal Chancellor, Mr. Sebastian Kurz, said that the European Union will be complete only when all the countries of the Western Balkans become its members”.

The President of Montenegro, Mr. Milo Đukanović, pointed out that in addition to preserving the vision of a united Europe, the assistance to the infrastructure de-velopment of the Western Balkans is the most important contribution that the EU can give to the faster way out of the un-derdevelopment of the each country in the region.

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eved certain benefits so far, while Montenegro, although the smallest economy, has pulled out the largest amount of money.

• The regional business community expects from the decision-makers to continue improving the business en-vironment, removing non-tariff barri-ers in international trade and increa-sing the efficiency of administration at the state and local levels;

• The economic chambers are of key importance on the economic path and the removal of barriers for the Eu-ropean market.

• The five-year cycle of the Berlin Pro-cess has shown the exceptional role of the economic chambers for the Eu-ropeanization of the Balkans and the support to companies to adopt Euro-pean standards

• Although the region has created fiscal incentives for investors, however, the rule of law and the improvement of infrastructure must go in line with these incentives.

• The countries of the Western Balkans will need 33 years to reach the level of the European Union if the process continues with this dynamics.

• The quality and quantity of public in-frastructure in the Western Balkans is not at a satisfactory level despite regi-onal initiatives.

• The increase in public infrastructu-re should mainly be financed from external sources under the concessi-on terms.

• The migrants from the Western Bal-kans are younger and better educa-ted, around 4.4 million left the region, which annually reduces the growth rate by 0.6-0.9 percentage points.

• The participation of the Western Bal-kans in global value chains (GVC) must be supported by structural re-forms, infrastructure and education.

• The regatta must be a principle that is complied with by the Western Balkan countries that want to join the EU.

• Since the renewal of independence in 2006, Montenegro has played a pro--European and constructive role in the Balkans, which is why it is impor-tant to keep the acquired position.

• Entry into NATO reduces the invest-ment risks which changes the struc-ture of investors and brings desirable investors in the countries of the We-stern Balkans.

• The countries of the Region are inve-sting efforts in structural reforms in order to achieve European standards.

Recommendations:

• Opening of the Chapters is about changes in society. The candidate co-untries should not run a race with the date of membership. The European perspective does not imply member-ship, but European values.

• It is necessary to strengthen the infra-structure as well as the administrati-ve capacities in order to take advanta-ge of the development potentials.

• The politics should be in the function of economic development and coope-ration.

• The Western Balkans must continue implementing reforms if they want to reach the income of the EU countries.

• It is necessary to preserve the exi-sting level of stability in order for the economy to prosper.

• The Western Balkans needs greater investment in capital, labour and pro-ductivity.

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• The use of other sources of external financing should be ba-lanced against the risk of creating a new debt, especially in the case of public-private partnerships.

• The countries of the Western Balkans must put greater ef-forts into internal institutional building, first of all in terms of strict implementation of the rule of law, and greater de-mocratization.

• Increase efforts to reduce political barriers, which is a pre-requisite for the integration of the Western Balkans.

• Confidence among the countries of the Western Balkans ne-eds to be turned into real economic benefits.

• Although the regional support in terms of the EU accession is high (over 60%), it is necessary to effectively implement the communication strategy in order to better inform citi-zens about all the benefits they will have from the EU acces-sion.

• The IPA 3 will actually be 13% higher in MFF 2021-2027. Given that there is no fixed allocation of funds in pre-accession as-sistance funds 3 (IPA 3), it is necessary to show readiness to withdraw more funds for projects.

• The countries of the region expect that they will be allocated reserve chairs in the European Parliament.

• The main precondition for connecting the countries of the

Western Balkans and their growth and development is com-pliance with the documents that have been signed. Infra-structure, economic and any other connectivity must prece-de the compliance with the signed political declarations.

• The absence of partnerships among the companies from the Western Balkans region is evident.

• Networking of the companies from the Balkans can signifi-cantly contribute to increasing regional competitiveness, in accordance with the guidelines of the Berlin Process.

• Market openness is important, but it is necessary to create conditions for investments, instead of placing products and withdrawing money.

• The prerequisite for entering the world market is to be the best in your own country and the region.

• Infrastructure integration of the countries of the Western Balkans will contribute to the development of the business.

• It is necessary to harmonize the education system and the labour market, as one of the measures for reducing the out-flow of skilled workers.

• Among the most important moves that states could make in order to stimulate the business environment are the su-ppression of the gray economy and raising the level of com-petitiveness.

Struktura učesnika Konferencije / Conference participants structure

Documents

MONTENEGRO 2018 - Privredna komora Crne Gore · Tel: +382 20 230 545 e-mail: [email protected] ... Konferencija o ekonomiji Montene-gro 2018 u organizaciji Privredne ko-more Crne Gore