On Thursday 16 March, on the occasion of the EU-Albania Association Council, the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, the Commissioner for Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, and the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, stressed “the importance of further advancing the reform progress and consolidating implementation” in the country.
“No time was lost last year, and the pace of reforms went ahead. Of course, as always, European Commissioners are here to ask for more, so we have been asking for more, to accelerate even further the reforms, and we have also agreed that if all goes well, this year could be maybe even more successful”, Várhelyi summarised to the media.
According to the joint statement issued at the end of the Association Council – held for the first time in Tirana – both sides encouraged Albania to continue implementing reforms in the field of the rule of law.
The EU commended Albania for the “good progress overall” made thanks to the continued implementation of the comprehensive justice reform, stressing the need for further efforts. “It has begun to bear significant fruit, it also has its thorns and pitfalls, but something is happening in Albania that no one imagined a short time ago: the new justice is hitting people, individuals linked to power or not, in a way that has never happened in the history of this country”, Rama said. He also explained that his country was working on public procurement reform.
The EU representatives also called for intensified efforts in the fight against corruption and organised crime and for the adoption and implementation of outstanding measures, in particular in the areas of minorities, freedom of expression and media freedom, property rights and personal data protection.
Borrell also welcomed Rama’s announcement that he would not pursue the ‘golden passport’ project, although Rama only explained that his country was suspending the process until the EU Court’s decision (see EUROPE 13032/23). “If the European Court rules against golden passports, the issue is closed. If it rules in favour, each country will make its own choice”, he said.
The High Representative also welcomed Albania’s full alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, including sanctions against Russia.
Furthermore, Mr Várhelyi announced that the EU had found the necessary funding to open a campus of the College of Europe in Tirana (see EUROPE 13078/1), without specifying the amount. According to the Commissioner, it should be possible to start the admission procedure as early as September this year. “The only thing we need now is a building, a nice place for the college to set up, and we are providing the funds for that”, he stated.
See the joint statement: https://aeur.eu/f/5ur (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)