Brussels, 07/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - After the EU/Albania interparliamentary meeting on 2 and 3 December in Brussels, the delegations painted rather a severe picture of the situation in their joint declaration, saying that, despite progress made to date, Albania should make a greater effort still on political and economic matters if it wants closer integration with the EU.
MEPs consider the government's capacity to govern and implement the necessary reforms must be improved. They stress that the lack of political will to achieve this would seriously hamper the reform process and could delay the conclusion of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement still further. The 2005 parliamentary elections will be an important test of how Albania has progressed towards meeting European standards. The delegations urged the Albanian political forces to mobilise their political will to ensure fully democratic elections, bringing Albania closer to the European and Euro-Atlantic structures. Albania would otherwise suffer a major setback in its democratic development. The situation of the economy is not much better. Although delegations welcome "positive macro-economic developments", they deplore the fact that the economy is to a large extent "informal" and that the environment is not favourable for investment. MEPs also expressed concern about the "continued deterioration in the environment" of rivers and along the coast.
Albania has made progress in strengthening its administrative capacity with a view to negotiations on an agreement with the EU, but the pace of these reforms must be accelerated if it hopes to conclude talks within a reasonable timeframe, the declaration states, placing emphasis on: - the fight against corruption and organised crime; strengthening the judicial system and public administration; ensuring the proper functioning of democracy and establishing the political stability necessary for speedy reform; addressing the land ownership issues; further formalisation and reform of the economy; and implementing European standards in protecting environment and cultural values. Albania has also made a great effort to combat people trafficking and the country's authorities have clearly "shown willingness" to conclude readmission agreements with the EU, EU Member States and third countries. Nonetheless, more must be done to combat trafficking of all kinds, including drug trafficking, and in the fields of education and freedom of the press.
The delegations welcome Albania's role for achieving stability and peace in the region. They note that Albania has signed various agreements with the other Balkan States and that it is an active member within the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). They insist on the need for increased regional cooperation to resolve the many recurrent problems of these countries and, to end on a positive note, they stress that the region currently has a "clear European perspective".