Bild: Albania's Prime Minister Critical of EU Enlargement Strategy

It is a long-loved ambition by our countries, Albania and Northern Macedonia to join the European Union to enable our citizens to benefit from a free market and participate in this great democracy.

Let me clarify something: as the prime minister of Albania, I know that we are not fully ready to join the European Union today, nor are North Macedonia or the rest of the Western Balkans.

There are many demands that we must meet in order to become members. But our two countries -- Albania and Northern Macedonia -- have all, rather, met the conditions needed to really start the negotiations process with Brussels.

Such a start of negotiations was also decided by the EU Council itself in 2018, the ATS reports.

But the efforts of our people have not been rewarded. The least we deserve now is the answer to our question “Why?”

When the European Commission called on Albania and Northern Macedonia to implement some reforms before negotiations started, we did so. Some of them, such as reform in justice in Albania, are unprecedented for another country that has not yet entered the negotiations process. We made progress and the European Commission recognised our full commitment and our extraordinary achievements on several occasions.

Anyway: Before negotiations officially began, some EU member states decided that negotiations with Albania would not be supported by parts of their electorate.

So they postponed this official start for negotiations. When the time came to justify this decision, they did not say you had a problem. Instead, it said that we had some problems.

Albania and Northern Macedonia have more than a few problems. That's exactly why we want to accelerate the process of integration into the European Union so that we can get tools to solve these very problems.

To be clear: we are not seeking to become members of the European Union tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Our only concern now is to get the necessary EU assistance programmes so that we can grow in the role of a future member in the accession negotiations process.

When the heads of state and European governments took over to start negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia, they took over the path of “departation”.

Since you have now failed to keep this promise several times, you must now face the “truth” and answer some critical questions.

First question: Was the real reason for the failure of negotiations the duration of our reforms (as the EU Commission found sufficient progress had already been made)?

Or was it the unwillingness of governments assigned to choose a course that would not be supported by some voters? A real answer to that question is vital because political cynicism poses just as much a threat to our region as the COVID-19 pandemic. My party managed to win the last parliamentary elections in Albania, despite delays in the integration process. We are legitimised by most of our people to start negotiations. Our country remains politically divided.

The European Union's uncontrolled promises only increased this rift. Understandably, only the beginning of the integration process enables us to create the necessary basis for strengthening the political consensus that is essential for the future of our country.

Question two: How many of the current EU members met the same conditions to start negotiations when they joined Brussels, as expected today from Albania and Northern Macedonia?

I am keen to think that obstacles to future EU members have become higher. But, really, it is not fair to make now the start of negotiations more difficult than it used to be.

Question three: Do some European politicians have a moral right to cause divisive disagreements in Western Balkan countries?

And to insist that the heads of the Western Balkan states should risk their entire career in the European integration process, while these EU heads themselves are not prepared at all to give up their political comfort.

I leave the answer to my readers.

If the European Union really does not want to get the Western Balkans closer to Brussels, then at least it should be prepared to tell the true story of why the path of negotiations is blocked everywhere.

This theme is of utmost importance to our small country, a motive by which life imitates art. I feel like I'm living in Samuel Beckett's drama “pending Godo”, because there are many words, but nothing happens at all.
And as Beckett's main characters, given this real nonsense, we have no choice but to move forward.

Because Europe is our religion. And nothing will change because it's the way of our destiny.