For 5 years, 260 thousand Albanians receive European countries' passports

Official data from the European Institute of Statistics shows that in only 5 years, there are about 260 thousand Albanians who have taken citizenship from a European Union country.

That figure is equal to the Durres District population, or 10% of the entire resident population in Albania. Eurostat's detailed data shows that Albania ranks second in the world, after Morocco, for the highest number of persons who have gained the European Union's citizenship in recent years, writes the TCC, past Albinfo.ch.ch.

This tendency was preserved in 2017. According to Eurostat, during just 2017, the number of Albanians who benefited citizenship from one EU country was 58 thousand and 900, which constitutes 7.1% of all citizens granted by the European Union this year.

But what are Albanian citizens turning into? According to Eurostat, the majority -- nearly 92% of them -- receive Greek and Italian citizenship. During 2017, the Greek government has approved citizenship for nearly 30,000 Albanians, while the Italian government has approved citizenship for another 27 thousand.

Three decades after the collapse of the communist regime, Albania continues to be searching for the European dream. But, as ill-governance and political crises have kept the EU doors closed so far for Albania, many Albanians have found the solution to migration.