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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Government's goal to facilitate flow of goods, people for better life for citizens

Preševo, 16 July 2023

Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said today that the government of Serbia, with the "Open Balkans" initiative, wants to facilitate the flow of goods, people, capital and services, in order to make everyday life and trade easier for everyone in the country, and in order to increase the standard of citizens.

Brnabic visited the Open Balkan sales point – electronic toll collection, at the Presevo toll station, in the direction of North Macedonia, in the company of Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski, and the line ministers for transport, Goran Vesic and Blagoj Bočvarski.

As part of the "Open Balkans" initiative, we already have important results, and when Prime Minister Dmitar Kovacevski was in Serbia, we saw a huge increase in mutual trade, Brnabic said.

The Prime Minister pointed out that currently the single toll collection tag can only be used for passenger traffic, and that from Friday, 21 July, it will also be available for trucks and the economy.

In 2022, the value of goods exchange was €1.48 billion. Serbia exported a little less than a billion euros, and North Macedonia a little more than €500 million. The increase was much greater on the side of North Macedonia, more than 56 percent, and on our side 16 percent. The "Open Balkans" initiative is a good thing for all parties, the Prime Minister stated.

She emphasised that it is extremely important for Serbia that other countries join the project of uniform toll collection, because it will directly affect Serbia's GDP.

It means economic growth. Increased salaries and pensions. It's good that now thanks to this project we are all working together to move the transit of the whole of Europe through the Balkans, she said.

Brnabic announced that the "Open Balkan ID" project will start in August or September.

I believe that when we open the Open Balkans, citizens from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro will want to join. I expect that slowly everyone within the Western Balkans will join this initiative. But for that we need to have as many projects as possible and to show concrete benefits for the economy and citizens, she said.

The Prime Minister mentioned that railway Corridor 10, which will go from Belgrade, through Nis, Presevo to the border with North Macedonia, will go to Skopje and then to Greece.

It is a project that will be financed by the EU in part from grant funds for the Western Balkans. The next huge project and significant connection between Serbia and North Macedonia. I don't believe that construction can start before 2025, when the design and technical documentation will be completed, but we are working to ensure that in the near future people from Skopje will practically travel to Budapest and later to Central and Western Europe. It will be a completely different Balkan, she concluded.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski assessed that the electronic toll collection between North Macedonia and Serbia is the best confirmation that the "Open Balkans" initiative is producing results.

If we look at the research, the "Open Balkans" initiative has huge support, and it has produced results in just three months. Serbian and Macedonian engineers have created a solution for a unified electronic toll collection, Kovacevski said.

Kovacevski pointed out that the card bought in North Macedonia works perfectly in Serbia and added that by next Friday, freight traffic will also be able to use electronic toll collection.

Trade exchange between the two countries has increased by more than 20 percent, and the number of tourists coming from Serbia this year compared to previous years is quite higher, Kovacevski pointed out.

He announced that the establishment of a software system for the smooth movement of workers between North Macedonia and Serbia will follow.

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia added that in the future they will work on increasing trade with Serbia.

Ministers are working on a solution that will allow us to have only one traffic control between Serbia and North Macedonia. The "Open Balkans" initiative will connect our companies and break down barriers, Kovacevski concluded.

Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic said that this project is in line with the policies of the two countries to enable the rapid flow of goods and capital.

According to him, in the last ten days, more than 13,000 people in Serbia took this tag, which shows the interest in him.

About 7,000 vehicles with Serbian licence plates cross into North Macedonia every day. In the first six months, we had almost 33 million cars on our highways, and we expect them to be almost 72 million by the end of the year, which is an increase of 4.6 percent, and revenues are higher by 12.5 percent, he said.

Vesic pointed out that the common tag is proof that the two countries can work together.

Minister of Transport of North Macedonia Blagoj Bocvarski expressed his satisfaction that the original initiative of Serbia and North Macedonia is turning into a reality, and that it can be an example not only for the region, but also for all other European countries.

Bocvarski expressed satisfaction that even in North Macedonia, more than 30 percent of toll collection is already done through the electronic system and cashless payment.

We will continue to work together with the Minister of Transport of Serbia for the welfare of our citizens and transport companies, Bocvarski said.

The joint tag for toll collection in Serbia and North Macedonia became operational at the beginning of July, and in order for drivers to be able to use the tag device, it is necessary to reconfigure it, which is done in six steps.