The “Balkan Schengen” idea has been going back and forth for a long time, but now there are new actors on the scene.
By early 90s, Adem Demaci gave the idea of a Balkan confederation made of Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, without changing the then Yugoslav borders.
His idea was not accepted by Belgrade. In 2010, there were four countries: Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, and Macedonia who gave the same idea, but it was soon forgotten.
The idea came back again when the Serbian President, Vucic, spoke about a mini-Schengen in the Balkan, which would include Serbia, Albania and Northern Macedonia.
When asked if Kosovo would be invited, Vucic said that it is important for Belgrade and Prishtina to discuss the process. However, Kosovo and Montenegro were both against, since they see it as a new Yugoslavia.
Now it is the Serbian authorities who say that the Balkan Schengen will affect the economic aspect of the region.
The Albanian PM also said in New York that this would help to remove the borders in Balkan, while Northern Macedonia underlined the economic benefits of the region.
Prishtina, on the other hand, has opposed the Balkan Schengen by considering it a neo-Yugoslav tendency.
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