TIRANA – The EP Rapporteur on Albania Knut Fleckenstein, in the run-up to his visit to Tirana, during an interview with Deutsche Welle, says that June elections are the key for opening accession negotiations, Albanian news agency ATA reports.
The regular visit to Albania has a threefold aim. First the European Parliament (EP) has just adopted the resolution crafted by me, therefore it is quite important to talk to all stakeholders involved, such as civil society but also in politics and discuss what the EP proposes. Second, concrete implementation of justice reform, so crucial for the country, in order to start in autumn the membership talks and thirdly, the visit is related to our expectations about elections. In this context, I will also convey the ODHIR recommendations, said Fleckenstein.
Fleckenstein points out that if the implementation of justice reform gets underway, if the vetting process is set in train, the odds are in your favor, because almost all fractions in parliament have accepted that Albanian government and parliament have done a lot recently to move ahead on the path to the EU, reports ATA.