MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) approved the report on Albania on Wednesday 24 May (52 votes in favour, 5 against and 10 abstentions).
“Albania has shown a deep commitment to the integration process by implementing difficult reforms. The result of today’s vote shows that the European Parliament recognises these efforts and Albania’s full alignment with the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy”, commented Isabel Santos (S&D, Portuguese).
While the report adopted in the European Parliament committee welcomes the opening of the country’s EU accession negotiations, it also stresses the importance of carrying out reforms “in cooperation with the opposition and all segments of society”.
The report also stresses that the accession criteria should be met by 2030 “at the latest” and calls on the government to intensify its efforts to strengthen the functioning of the Rule of law, the judicial system, the fight against corruption and organised crime.
Finally, MEPs recall that the government should “ensure media freedom, strengthen civil society, guarantee fundamental rights and the rights of minorities, including the LGBTI+ community”.
The vote on the report on North Macedonia, which was also to be voted on in the AFET Committee, was postponed until June. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)