TIRANA – Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati held a meeting with the European Commission Director General for EU Neighborhood and Enlargement Christian Danielsson. The meeting was a follow-on to the publication of the new EU Enlargement Strategy and Albania’s annual Report.
Director General Danielsson pointed out the positive assessment of the European Commission Report about Albania’s steady progress towards fulfillment of the five key priorities for opening the accession negotiations.
Minister Bushati thanked him for the realistic assessment of the Commission Report, emphasizing that “for Albania, the Report is a recognition of the work that has already been done and a guideline for what we still have to do”.
Both parties emphasized the special importance of the reform in the field of justice and its impact on the fight against corruption and organized crime.
Mr. Danielsson highly praised the fact that Albania has been sharing with the European Union joint positions and decisions in terms of Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. He also underlined the positive assessment of the European Commission on the role of Albania in promoting regional cooperation.
“A compare view of the European Commission among all regional countries shows that Albania is the only country that has made progress in all the assessed fields” pointed out Minister. Bushati.
Following, Minister Bushati stated that, “it is important for us that the progress recognized by the European Commission serves as an encouragement to foster our commitment to the next objective: the opening of accession negotiations, which will provide sustainable and tangible benefits for all the citizens of this country”.
Mr. Danielsson ensured Minister Bushati of the full engagement of the European Commission for the achievement of essential progress in the process of European integration.
In this context, the parties highlighted the importance of coordinating the following steps among Albania, European Commission, and Member States, while waiting for the recommendation for the opening of negotiations.