Two new European Parliament offices are to be opened in Tirana and Chisinau, against a backdrop of “heightened geopolitical tensions and new impetus for EU enlargement”, said the institution on Tuesday 11 March.
These two new offices will serve as the main point of contact between the European Parliament and national parliaments, civil society and local partners in the two regions, the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe.
The decision to open these two branches comes as MEPs voted in favour of the new €1.9 billion Reform and Growth Facility for Moldova to accelerate the country's socio-economic reforms, strengthen its resilience and advance its integration into the EU.
The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, is due to visit Albania on Wednesday and Thursday 12 and 13 March to meet civil society and exchange views with political forces on the reforms undertaken by the country on the road to EU integration. (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)