EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Council meeting / Joint press conference by Prime Minister Edi Rama, EU High Representative for the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi
The EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Council (SA Council) held today its twelfth meeting at the format of highest political level dialogue between Albania and the European Union for the first time ever in Tirana, with participation of Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, who represented the European Commission.
The Albanian delegation was led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, and included Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka and the Minister of State and Chief Negotiator, Majlinda Dhuka, and heads of other relevant institutions involved in the country’s EU integration process.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, the EU High Representative for the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, held a joint press conference after the plenary sessions:
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you very much distinguished High Representative of the European Union. I would like to express my gratitude for all the support we have been receiving from you and the Commissioner Várhelyi in a process that has been very challenging and during a considerably long very unfair timeframe to Albania as a result of the political conjuncture that has been overcome now. Today, too, with the EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Council held for the first time ever outside Brussels, once again you showed us respect, dedication and your staunch willingness to be by our side on this path that has been now opened, a straight path that certainly has its own challenges.
I am really pleased that this meeting’s atmosphere was exceptionally positive. We have fully agreed on the entire axis of this strategic relationship. Albania is no longer the last one to catch the integration train, but it is now on the forefront of this effort in a region, with Albania’s role being acknowledged as a model in terms of promoting peace, dialogue and normalization. Allow me to tell you that see your effort to normalize Kosovo-Serbia relations with admiration.
In our perspective, the normalization document you have put forward is the best thing that could happen to both Kosovo and Serbia and I would like to wholeheartedly believe that neither one party nor the other will allow themselves not to fully embrace the document and the implementation roadmap, because the European Union, through you and in cooperation with the United States of America, have offered Kosovo and Serbia, the region and the next generations a new path, a new gateway to a peaceful future and more time needed to finally conclude the mutual recognition process.
On the other hand, speaking about Albania and its progress made in this process, today we are very happy to note that things have gone according to the projections, we face no delays, we experience no problems and most importantly we can actually observe and note progress of the justice system reform anytime we meet.
Justice system reform has started to yield significant results. Of course it is not a bed of roses, as it definitely has its thorns and pitfalls, but one thing is for sure and it is a fact that something is happening in Albania that nobody could imagined a short awhile ago.
Justice in Albania, the new justice bodies, special anti-corruption and anti-organized crime prosecution is targeting and striking individuals connected or not connected with the power, but the former are more important than the others in a way that has never been the case in the history of this country. And this reform, these new justice bodies and we we are proving that the time of the untouchables, the time of those sheltered under the government’s umbrella is now over once and for all.
On the other hand, I am proud that Albania is the only country in the region to have taken this step. It is the only country to have undertaken and delivered on this reform and the only country to have taken this step. I do not know any of other countries in the region, where justice strikes without looking to the left or the right, but only by looking straight forward and, as I already said, the reform is yielding its results. Of course, problems are encountered when it comes to its implementation, because, as I said it is not a bed of roses, as there are thorns and there are pitfalls, but we have never questioned at any points in times what the new justice rulings. It has been rather the opposite. We have been staunch supporters of the new justice and we will continue to clearly state that those who have to settle scores with justice they will need to hire an attorney.
The ruling Socialist Party, the government do not offer attorney services to anyone and that is a significant achievement of Albania in a process where we are seeking to take new steps to enter a new era of the public procurements. We are making preparations to launch a reform that will overhaul the entire public procurement system area, where, as assessed by the Commission and the Council’s decisions, significant progress has been made. Nonetheless, taking public procurement from out of the institutions is our goal and to this end we are working with the UN Agency UNOPS, with whom we will very soon put forward a platform that will transform public procurement and there will no longer be high-level officials to be connected with the public procurements. It is another revolution that will take Albania to a whole new level in terms of transparency and the fight against corruption, because this is where one of the core issues we face.
We spoke about the economic convergence. It is a discussion we have started with our EU partners. We will continue to talk about it, because we believe it is high time that the EU makes a significant step ahead in terms of approximation, not only as far as the individual integration process is concerned, with all parties having to precisely fulfil their own obligations and we are not asking for any gifts, any accelerations or shortcuts. We want to do our homework and be assessed for our homework only, but financially speaking the Balkans is incapable of handling these shocks without having a support for the challenges resulting from the time we are living in.
The gap with other EU member states surrounding us, namely Greece, Croatia and the others when it comes to benefiting European support is mindboggling. We are not capable of facing it. The Western Balkans is not able to handle this widening gap more so now that we are being challenged by countries that are taking our people as they can pay better.
As far as the so-called golden passports are concerned, we have made it clear that the process has been suspended up until we have a clear European stance. This is not something we invented; instead it is something we borrowed from the EU countries that have implemented it successfully. There is a case before the European Court. We are no longer putting this initiative on the table until we see the ruling from the European Court. Should the European Court rules against the golden passports, then this is something done once and for all. If the European Court rules in favour of them, then every country will make their own choice.
As far as the fiscal amnesty is concerned, which is another topic, our position is a known one. We appreciate the commitment of the Commission and the EU Delegation to provide us with an expertise. We would like to go on with our work with the experts. We are not going to give up only because this is not a good thing in principle, because we have all our reasons to think that this is the right thing to be done for Albania. On the other hand though, we want to do this together and that’s why we thank you for your expertise and we want to actually go to the bottom of such process of dialogue and improvement of the bill. The proposed bill now is entirely different from it used to be previously, thanks to the expertise you have been providing us with.
Last, we have completed whole consultation process on the medical cannabis and therefore we will move on with the process in parliament, being fully aware that this is not only a question of how we write it, but also how we implement it and to this end all the overseeing components have been clearly and properly thought, but it is certainly going to be assessed practically how this is going to be done.
By concluding I would like to thank you very much, the Commissioner in particular, who as it always happens when he comes to Albania, but also to other countries as well, he doesn’t come with the handful of principles and predictions only, but he comes also with an European portfolio he always opens for us and I feel really pleased that the Commissioner has come together a due funding to start construction of the Bruges European College in Tirana.
It is exceptionally important and significant to us that after the Bruges European College having opened its campus in Poland in early 1990s to support the first countries that became members of the European Union back then, is now going to open its campus in Albania, after it was proposed by us and it was accepted in the Tirana Summit and this is actually a great gift and, allow me to tell you, a well-deserved for Albania, for the sake of truth. I would like to apologize for my lack of modesty, but Albania has deserved everything you have given it. I am not going to continue and say that Albania deserves a lot more, because this is something you clearly know.
Thank you!
EU High Representative Joseph Borrel: I am very happy to be here in Albania. It is my third visit to Albania as High Representative of the European Union, but today is a unique opportunity because it is for the first time in history of relations between Albania and the European Union, that we held the Stabilisation and Association Council in Tirana. Normally, these important annual meetings take place in Brussels or in Luxembourg. But today, we are here, in Tirana, to show to the Albanian people that the European Union is coming closer to you.
With this, we are sending, we want to send a clear and strong political signal of the commitment of the European Union to Albania’s path to be a member of the European Union. And we use the Stabilisation and Association Council as the most important institutional interaction between the European Union and Albania.
With this kind of meetings, we take stock of the progress in preparations for the membership, we review what has been done, we discuss where more efforts are needed and what is the work needed ahead. And the main message from this Council meeting is our unequivocal commitment to the European Union integration of Albania.
We see and welcome Albania’s clear strategic direction towards the European Union.
We are working together on Albania’s integration on all strands – from accession negotiations to concrete initiatives such as your participation in our Common Security and Defence Policy missions or in the European Diplomatic Academy, which I launched last year.
I want to recognise and clearly say that this country has demonstrated a strong commitment to necessary reforms and achieved important milestones, in particular in the area of justice. Albania has implemented a comprehensive justice reform, which has been advancing steadily. And this is a clear opportunity now to move forward. Albanian institutions should speed up reforms, building on the massive support of the Albanian people for the European Union integration.
We had the opportunity to welcome the announcement of the Prime Minister [of Albania, Edi Rama] that the golden passport scheme will not be pursued. And we addressed many other issues during our meeting, in particular the strong polarisation of the domestic political environment and many other issues, which Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Várhelyi will address in more detail.
This meeting takes place in a very challenging and new geostrategic reality caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. But at the same time, it – this event – made the European Union more united and brought the European Union and Western Balkans closer together.
This is a critical moment of truth. In this critical moment of truth, Albania has showed a true European spirit. Not only in solidarity with Ukraine, but also by acting fully in line with our European Union’s foreign policy. And you continue your 100% alignment with foreign policy decisions of the European Union, including the response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
And it is good to know that we can count on our partners – especially the candidate countries like Albania, with their accession reform efforts and 100% [European] attitude in the area of foreign policy which is a clear signal of your European will.
Thank you very much, Prime Minister!
EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi: Thank you very much! It seems that Tirana is the place to be. Tirana is the place to be for Europeans. It is not even six months that we were here for the Tirana Summit with all Heads of States and Governments, and now we have Association Council in Tirana. So it is always worth to come. It is always worth to come because it is not only about Albania and its EU integration, but it is also about Europe being devoted to the Western Balkans; devoted to be the geopolitical priority for the Western Balkans. What we have heard again loud and clear from Prime Minister Rama and from his delegation today that for Albania it is Europe which is the geopolitical priority. And I can confirm that for the EU, the Balkans is the geopolitical priority, meaning that we want this region to be part of the European Union as fast as we can.
And coming to Albania, of course we were looking back at what we have accomplished last year, and last year has been a very successful year for Albania. You have started with the first Intergovernmental Conference; we have started with the so-called screening process which leads us to the very specific detailed accession negotiations. And we have also agreed that 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, because we both benefit from the progress Albania makes. We both benefit from this progress because we, out of this get a neighbour, a partner, an ally who is not only working with us, but who integrates with us. Be it trade, be it the society, be it the economy, or be it our values. And this is why I think it is tremendously important to have these meetings where we are not only talking about what needs to be done, but what was achieved. And looking back, what we see is that an overall progress is very good in the country. We see the key issues of the fundamentals clusters going ahead – meaning rule of law reforms – of course we encouraged the Prime Minister and his delegation to do even more. The judicial reform is paying dividends we see, I do hope that we will see also dividends in the fight against corruption, we see some cases already emerging at the high level, so we encourage of course Albania to continue on this path.
