TIRANA – The preparatory process for opening of EU accession negotiations with Albania started on 17 June. In the presence of European Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and the members of the government, Prime Minister Edi Rama expressed his determination to do a qualitative job in the 12 months until the June 2019.
During the meeting, held on Tuesday at the Palace of Congresses, Rama said that the decision of European Commission is a milestone which definitely reinforces the European perspective of Albania and sets out the irreversible path to EU accession, paving the way for the beginning of accession negotiations with Albania next year.
“We have carefully gone through the Commission’s recommendation and the Council’s conclusions and are clear about our duty. The fact that we received an unconditional recommendation will help us do a qualitative work”, said Rama.
“Albania and Macedonia managed to overcome the wave for the time being,” he stated, adding that this new stage of such a tough path would have never been associated with optimism if it were not for commissioners standing by our side and their priceless devotion to Albania.
Commissioner Hahn said that there have not been any new conditions for Albania, adding that the screening process has been conducted in every other candidate country. “We need to identify the position of your country’s legislation relative to EU’s”, said Hahn.
“We are conducting a comprehensive process. We are looking into the general situation of the rule of law. The better the quality of this analytical process from all institutions involved, the more done in advance, the better will be for the beginning of negotiations”, he concluded.