British media: Albania will replace us in the EU (Photo)

Albania may be the next state to become a member of the European Union (BE) and thus replace Great Britain after Brexit. Brussels insists that Albania has “continued support”, British Express writes.

According to the British newspaper Albania is a formal candidate for EU membership, but the process has slowed by the bloc of states that do not want to allow new members in the organisation. The British Express further writes that Albania gained candidate status in 2014, but that it has since failed to meet certain conditions necessary for membership. Now, however, the country addressed the ballot boxes in a historic set of elections.

Jean Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, indicated that the vote in these elections shows that the Albanian government has a clear “mandad to continue reforms needed for membership. More than 90 percent of Albanians support EU membership.

In a letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama, Juncker writes:

“we welcome the fact that after the election ended, you have approached the opposition, stressing the need to overcome differences within the party and underlining the common challenges facing Albania”.

Juncker speaks of Albania as an important partner for the EU and the will to continue close co-operation. He added that “concrete efforts” will be needed to forward reform to the corrupt justice system.

Increased problems with EU relations are not limited to the case of leaving Great Britain.

These Juncker comments come only a few months after he warned instability in the Balkan states. Last month he told US Vice President Mike Pence:

If we leave the only -- Bosnia, Republika Srpska, Macedonia, Albania -- all these states will have war again”.

The poor country is one of the poorest countries in Europe and suffers from high unemployment rates with the profit system that benefits up to only 780 pounds a year, compared to 26,000 in Britain, writes British Express, broadcasts BW.

The European Parliament has twice rejected Albania's full membership and warned government leaders that the 2017 parliamentary elections should be free and fair before accession negotiations begin.

The article concludes with a description of parties participating in Albania's elections, underlining the fact that the two main parties -- the SP and DP -- have campaigned with a ticket to their country's EU membership.