Rama: Balkan Integration Vital for Europe

It is blind to the European Union's need to give a European Balkan perspective”, Prime Minister Edi Rama told the prestigious news agency “Agence France Presse” during his visit to Paris.

In a statement widely reflected in the European press, Rama declares that “in terms of negotiations, we are not asking for anything we have not deserved. We do not ask for a penny on the part of the European Union, but only advice on how to continue reforms that await us further”.

This is the complete article published in the French press:

Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, deemed this Tuesday as <x0 humaneetic” Balkan integration for the interests of the European Union itself. According to him, integration would be a “sector of peace and stability”, in a region that “will not experience again” the spectrum of war that has experienced in the past.

It is in Europe's own interest that the Balkans join. It is vital for the Balkans, but it is vital for Europe as well. You must be blind not to understand”, Rama declared “Agence France Presse”, during a visit to Paris. A NATO member since 2009, Albania hopes this year to open membership negotiations.

“We are a country composed of Muslims and Christians, but our common religion is Europe. We strongly believe in Europe as a factor of peace and stability, we believe in a friendly co-existence and in continued co-operation between Europe and my country's”, Rama follows. The citizens of Europe may have forgotten it, as for them war is only a black and white film in Netflix, but for those of us who have experienced it, it's something we never want to experience again, he adds, in reference to the 1998-99 war of Kosovo.

The latest conflict in the series of fighting that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, this confrontation between Serbian and Kosovo forces left more than 13 thousand dead.

Opening Negotiations

The European Commission proposed to member states in April the opening of membership negotiations with Albania and Macedonia, despite the reluctance of several member states, including France. Mr Rama welcomed at that moment the decision made as a result of reform efforts in his country, especially in areas such as fighting organised crime and corruption.

Nothing will happen to France, Germany or the EU as a whole if membership negotiations are decided to open up. Albania is not a threat to them”, Rama stressed during his visit to Paris. “Instead, opening negotiations will allow us to reinforce our rule of law, our institutions and allow us to become a better place to live. It's not about money. We are not asking for a cent to the European Union, but we ask only further recommendations for reforms that await us”.

The Requested Progress

“We have fulfilled all that we should meet for opening negotiations. All agree on the fate that Albania has done more than any other country to prepare for these negotiations. It's something that we deserve and I don't understand these hesitations about this”, Rama adds.

However, according to estimates by European Chancellors, cannabis traffic from Albania is equivalent to one-third of the country's Brto Interior Product. The United States and the European Union insistently call for Albania's substantial progress in fighting drug trafficking and corruption. Official Tirana, in turn, stresses that it has scored some important successes in recent months in the fight against traffickers.