Landmark day of opening negotiations begins, Rama and Kovacevski are expected by Von der Leyen

The historic day has begun for Albania, which will mark the official start of negotiations for EU membership.

Prime Minister Edi Rama's reception and Republic of Northern Macedonia Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski in Brussels has been made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leenen.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has written ahead of the table, where membership negotiations in the European Union are expected to open today.

The excited Rama has made this announcement.

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With the satisfaction of the pride that today Albania and all of us, indiscriminately, religion, province, idea, age or social status, Albania of Skenderbe, of the reborns, of the martyrs of the war, of the martyrs of the communist regime, of the students of December 19th, Albania and ordinary Albanian families, everywhere and of our children wherever they grow up with their parents, sits down at the large table of United Europe to start negotiations for its membership, he wrote.

According to the published agenda, Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama will meet with Macedonian counterpart Dimitar Kovacevski and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leenen at 08:30.

30 minutes later, they will hold a joint press conference. At 11:00, the First Intergovernmental Conference will be held, and at 12:30, Rama will have a joint press conference with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky and EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.

There is also a meeting planned at 1500 p.m., of Albania's chief official with the European Union, Zef Mazi.

Later, at 6:00, there will be a joint reception of the Albanian delegation with the Macedonian one, in case of opening negotiations.

The first intergovernmental conference between the EU and Albania to be held on Tuesday is only the beginning of a long road, which will last for at least a decade, which must end with the country's full integration into the European family.

The opening of negotiations also means Albania's “facto” partition from Northern Macedonia on the path to integration, despite precisely Bulgarian veto of the official understanding that for more than two years held the process with Tirana in place.

The pace of negotiations will depend on the speed of reforms, and according to him the most optimistic scenario for Albania's full EU membership is 2032. Experts see with concern the lack of qualified people in public administration to be at the level of technical negotiations with EU countries.