The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is visiting the Western Balkans until Wednesday 15 October, with a first stop in Albania on Monday 13.
The President, who held talks with Edi Rama, the Albanian Prime Minister, reiterated her desire to see Albania join the Union by the end of the decade, saying that the country was “on the right track towards the EU”.
Later that afternoon, Ursula von der Leyen gave an introductory speech at the EU-Western Balkans Investment Forum, in which she emphasised the benefits that both Albania and the EU could derive from a rapid and stable economic rapprochement.
“All the countries that have joined our Union have experienced incredible economic growth. (...) The same will apply in the Western Balkans. And I’m not talking about the distant future. (...) So my message to investors today is clear: don’t let this opportunity pass you by. The time to invest in the Western Balkans is now”, she declared.
In mid-September, Tirana received the green light from the European Union to officially open the fourth set of accession negotiation chapters (the ‘cluster’), which brings together the chapters on the ecological agenda, energy and transport, bringing the total number of open ‘clusters’ to five (see EUROPE 13710/18).
Albania is the leading candidate country for EU membership. Its Prime Minister has never hidden his ambition to see his country join the Union by the end of the decade (see EUROPE 13636/7). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)