STATE OF AFFAIRS OF 3 CRM MOBILITY AGREEMENTS (3MA)

21 June 2023

 

STAGE I. RATIFICATION / ACCEPTANCE / APPROVAL (RAA)

 

RAA “Semaphore” Table

Albania is the only SEE6 country adopting 3MA through Decision of Council of Ministers (and not through Parliament).

After North Macedonia’s ratification of 3 MA and subsequent information to the Depository, the 3 Mobility Agreements legally entered into force on 19 May 2023.

 

RAA Timeline

i) Albania. The 3 MA went through RAA by Decision of Council of Ministers (DCoM) during the end of January and beginning of February 2023.

ii) Kosovo. The 3MA were ratified in Kosovo Parliament on 23 February 2023.

iii) North Macedonia. The 3MA were ratified in North Macedonia Parliament on April 19, 2023.

iv) Serbia. The 3MA were ratified in Serbian Parliament on April 28, 2023.

v) Montenegro. The 3MA were ratified in the Montenegro Parliament on 4th of April 2023, but could not enter into force as President Đukanović refused to proclaim any new law adopted after he dissolved the Parliament on March 16. After the election of the new President and the constitution of the new Parliament, the three ratification laws will have to be re- submitted for parliamentary ratification.

vi) Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the 10th session on 19 April, 2023, Council of Ministers of BiH considered the agreements on recognition of higher education qualifications and on recognition of professional qualifications (the Agreement on Freedom of movement with IDs was not considered so far), and sent them to Presidency of BiH in further ratification procedure. Using the mechanism of protecting the vital interests of Republika Srpska, on June 21st, the Chairman of Presidency of BIH Željka Cvijanović vetoed processing of all three MA. Her move was supported by the vote of National Assembly of Republika Srpska, de facto stopping the 3MA RAA process in BiH.

STAGE II. IMPLEMENTATION PHASE

In each country a Ministry will be in charge of the respective agreement, as below:

Agreement / Institution in Charge	RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS	FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT WITH IDENTITY CARDS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS	RECOGNITION OF PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF DOCTORS OF MEDICINE, DOCTORS OF DENTAL MEDICINE AND ARCHITECTS IN THE CEFTA CONTEXT
AL	Ministry of Education and Sports General Directorate of Development for Education and Sports, at: https://arsimi.gov.al/	Ministry of Interior at: https://mb.gov.al/	Ministry of Education and Sports General Directorate of Development for Education and Sports, at: https://arsimi.gov.al/
BiH*
KOS	Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Department for European integration, policy coordination and legal affairs, at: https://masht.rks-gov.net/	Ministry of Internal Affairs* https://mpb.rks-gov.net/	Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Department for European integration, policy coordination and legal affairs, at: https://masht.rks-gov.net/
NM	Ministry of Education and Science Higher Education Sector, at: https://mon.gov.mk/	Ministry of Interior https://mvr.gov.mk/	Ministry of Education and Science https://mon.gov.mk/
MNE*
SER	Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia** https://prosveta.gov.rs/	Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia** http://www.mup.gov.rs/	Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia** https://prosveta.gov.rs/

*Subject to completion of RAA process. For MNE, after the establishment of the new Parliament and the creation of the Government, a realistic date for knowing ministries in charge is by end of 2023.

** confirmation of the exact department is pending

Each Ministry as above will nominate its representatives in the joint Commission / Working Group tasked with organizing / coordinating / monitoring the Implementation of each Agreement.

Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)

RCC will coordinate the work of the Commission for Freedom of Movement with ID cards.

RCC in cooperation with Education Reform Initiative of South-East Europe (ERI SEE) will coordinate the work of the to be created Joint Commission on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications.

RCC with CEFTA will support the Joint Working Group on Recognition of Professional Qualifications.

NOTE. This report is intended for informational purposes only. It is based on publicly available official information and/or meetings with SEE6 policymakers, organized by CDI and its partners. The accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information cannot be guaranteed. The report is not a substitute for official communication by the Parties, and any decisions made based on the report are the responsibility of the reader.

Prepared by Cooperation and Development Institute

Tirana, June 2023