Economic cooperation is not a signature on a document. It is a truck crossing a border without stopping.
We often speak of economic cooperation in abstract terms. But for a business trading in Southeast Europe, cooperation is measured in minutes and hours at the border, which translates directly into additional costs. Time is the invisible tax on every product made in the Balkans.
Right now, the region faces what I call a “Reality Gap.” We have excellent high-level policy frameworks: the Berlin Process, EU accession negotiations, and CEFTA. Yet the reality on the ground tells a different story. High-level aspirations are not filtering down to the operational level. A signed agreement does not move a truck. Only functioning infrastructure and harmonized procedures, implemented by all relevant stakeholders, can do that.
Trust and Digital Transformation
How do we bridge this gap? The answer lies in two concepts: trust and digital integration.
Trust is formalized through Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status. This is not merely a technical customs term; it is the VIP pass of global trade. It enables customs authorities to say: “We know this company, we have audited them, and they are safe.” But true trust requires all government agencies to adopt a One Government approach, recognizing AEO status across the board. This shifts the paradigm from “control everything” to “facilitate the trusted.”
Digital transformation enables trade data to be processed before a truck even arrives. However, many border agencies have priorities beyond trade facilitation, particularly security and public safety. As a result, goods that have cleared customs obligations are still delayed by other agency requirements.
The Infrastructure Bottleneck
Here is a hard truth: we have created digital priority for trusted companies through modern systems, but we have failed to build physical priority. An AEO truck might have paperwork that clears in five minutes digitally. But if that truck is stuck behind fifty others in a single lane at the border, the digital certificate is worthless. You cannot fly first class if there is only one security gate for everyone.
We are running digital software on analogue infrastructure. We need dedicated physical lanes for AEOs at our border crossings. We need the concrete to match the code.
A Training Ground for Europe
Our vision must extend beyond national borders. We need full mutual recognition of AEO programs across the region. If a company is trusted in Albania, it should automatically be recognized as trusted in North Macedonia and across all CEFTA economies.
We should view Southeast Europe as a training ground for the EU Single Market. If we cannot trust each other’s customs certifications within the Western Balkans, how can we ask the EU to trust us? If we cannot implement free movement of goods among ourselves, we are not ready for the big league.
Economic cooperation must stop being viewed as a political exercise and start being viewed as a logistical one. Let us work together to make a truck crossing a border without stopping the norm, not the exception.