Tusk: Albania takes EU country, will become member

But, according to Tusk, to achieve this goal, Albania must continue at this pace of reforms, to be able to meet all the required results by next June.

EC President Tusk has thanked Prime Minister Rama for an excellent job in this case, Time.net conveys. Only a few weeks have passed since the Council decided to set the path towards opening negotiations with Albania in June 2019, and the Commission has already started preparing work. This is a decision that has been unanimously approved by all EU leaders and governments. This progress would not have been possible without the steady and irreversible progress on the path to reforms Albania has made”, said Tusk, adding: “This would certainly not have been possible even without Prime Minister Edi Rama's personal commitment and his positive energy, so thank the prime minister of Albania for doing a great job”.

The EC president in this case has expressed desire and hope that all pro-Western forces in Albania work towards the same goal. While praising the Albanian Government and Prime Minister Rama's efforts to iron out dyvergences with Greece as the best evidence for Albania's commitment to the EU, and for good neighbourly relations, as well as for partnerships related to security and migration.

“Let me reiterate that Albania remains a good partner and an EU friend in terms of security and migration, where we have a strong and stable co-operation. Today, we also talked and agreed on the need to step up efforts in terms of rooting out illegal migration in Albania”, EC President Tusk concluded his speech.

Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, initially expressed gratitude that the Council's June decision was a positive decision, where Albania now has a date to open negotiations formally and has the green light to start the preparation work immediately, which is usually what happens after the opening of negotiations.

The “E know it was not easy, but in the end it is very important that now Albania has a date to open negotiations formally and has the green light to start the preparation work immediately, which is usually what happens after the opening of negotiations”, Rama said.

This, according to him, “has really been a very good solution”.

The “means a lot to us to get into this process and during these 12 months work hard to achieve good results, so that when we formally enter into negotiations we have earned time and move faster”, Rama said.

Furthermore, Rama said Albania is committed to resolving old problems with neighbours as soon as possible. He announced that next week in Tirana, Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn will come to sit down with all the actors involved in this very large analytical process within the preparation work. “We are again very committed to the European road and solving old problems with South neighbours and we have made good progress. I hope we will successfully conclude this difficult, open but sincere dialogue, as we are committed simultaneously to regional co-operation and stability”, Rama said.

The region, according to him, has made great progress, but there is still much to do”. “We rely on you, on your leadership, on everyone in Brussels, to move forward more rapidly and achieve all the necessary results at this very intensive but substantial time for Albania”, Rama added.

Fotolegent: Albania's country is definitely in the European Union, and Albania will become an EU member. So has declared Friday in Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk, during a joint press conference with Albania's prime minister, Edi Rama.