Regional Cooperation and Free Trade Agreements in Western Balkans: Opportunities and Obstacles

Abstract

Regional cooperation between the countries of the Western Balkans and free trade between this region and the EU is thought to create development opportunities for this region. However, in a region with political challenges and historical problems such as the Western Balkans, it is problematic to achieve these goals as a result of political and historical obstacles. To strengthen regional cooperation, the EU supported the Balkan region with Bilateral Free Trade Agreements, Generalized Trade Preferences, CEFTA 2006 and finally, SAAs. This paper through the Gravity model provides evidence that in the Western Balkans, free trade agreements have had a greater impact on law reform than economic sustainability and trade promotion. Also, unless political and historical disputes are resolved, especially between Kosovo and Serbia, none of the trade agreements can deepen regional cooperation in this ethnically troubled region. So, these are some of the obstacles that hinder the development opportunities of the Western Balkans.