Presevo – The President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and the Prime Minister of Macedonia Zoran Zaev spoke in Presevo, on the border between Serbia and Macedonia, on the establishment of a joint border crossing between the two countries. Following a tour of the Presevo- Tabanovce border crossing, the two officials announced at a press conference the launch of the "One Stop Shop" project, by which the two countries want to have only one customs control at the border. Also, friendly relations between Serbia and Macedonia were highlighted, and a joint session of the two governments, which would be held by the end of the year, was announced.  

While addressing the reporters, President Vucic pointed that an integrated border crossing would  enable people to  pass through Serbia and Macedonia easier and faster and that the two countries would become more competitive.

Speaking of the project, President Vucic, according to the Tanjug news agency, said that the essence of that was that people would not waste the time on the same thing twice, but would have the same checks, from the customs to animal health ones, in one place and would be kept at the border crossing half as long as they were kept then. 

The Macedonian Prime Minister Zaev stressed that thanks to the integrated border crossing, the citizens would be able to cross the border between Serbia and Macedonia in one place and with one stopping, reported the Beta news agency. Stating that the project was another example of the great friendship between the two countries, he thanked the World Bank for supporting the project. According to the Tanjug news agency, Prime Minister Zaev said that he believed that a protocol on the implementation of the project would soon be signed at a joint session of the two governments. He presented the fact that one billion euros were lost in the Balkans due to delays at the borders, as well as that 80 percent of the time was “spent” on the transport of goods, and only 20 percent on the roads.

President Vucic further said on that topic that there were one million passengers per year and as an example of the importance of the project, stated that a lot of time was wasted on the transport of livestock, milk and dairy products at the Balkan borders.

"This is one of the key reasons why we asked for the establishment of the Balkans with the free flow of goods, capital and services, as it brings at least a 7 percent increase in the profits of our economies," President Vucic said.

After the meeting at the border crossing, President Vucic hosted a working lunch for Prime minister Zaev in Vranje.

Source: “Tanjug” news agency, “Politika” daily and Coordination Body