The potential of the Western Balkans in international trade

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed massive changes in the global economy, primarily because of the growing influence of China. This change in the global economic structure leads to changes in the trade routes. This raises the question: How can Western Balkan countries take advantage of their geo-strategic position and their planned membership in the European Union to accelerate their economic development? To answer the question, this paper treats future global economic development with special attention to the opportunities that open to the Western Balkan countries - as defined by the European Union: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. The paper emphasises the fact that it is necessary to improve the infrastructure through the development of highways, airports, ports and railways. Also, the geo-strategic position of the Balkans opens potential transit routes for important energy projects, given that energy such as natural gas, is transported from the Caucasus, through Turkey, the Balkan countries to central Europe. All of this opens up new possibilities for economic development of the Western Balkans, which may be the key centre for connecting Europe and Asia, as it represent the entrance gate to Europe. But to use this potential, they need to fulfill at least two conditions: massive capital investments in infrastructure and membership in the European Union. Only in this way they can take advantage of the Western Balkan countries - such as low lab our costs, tax incentives and educated workforce.