Joint press conference of Prime Minister Edi Rama and President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso

Prime Minister Rama:

Hello everyone!

Allow me to express my great pleasure for having today in Tirana the European Commission President, Mr. Barroso, who honored us with his presence. I want to thank him from the heart not only for being here, but also for the strong and unyielding support to Albania in the process that culminated a few days ago with the status of candidate country.

Unfortunately, the visit President Barroso planned there years ago did not occur but, fortunately, this was for good because President Barroso had the chance to visit Albania already as a country with a special status, the status of candidate country.

It has been by all means a long and difficult process, a process that would have not been successful if our government had not done an extraordinary job and achieved tangible results in these nine months. It is also true that this process did not start nine months ago, but it was shaped by the contribution, the work and results required for many years.

I thanked President Barroso for the constant support that the EC has given us. I am confident that it will continue to support us, but at the same time it will regularly remind us of our homework and assist us to better perform our tasks.

Without any doubt, a very special thank goes to Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan Füle, a good friend to all Albanians, who led with a lot of determination and a lot of goodwill our political class through the process of awareness of challenges and paths to obtain candidate status.

I assured the President that we do not receive EU candidate status as a trophy. Nor do we consider it as a partial achievement or even less as a reason to have a position that divides, but we receive the status as an appreciation for what we have done and as a new level of responsibility for what we have to do. And of course, the most difficult part is what remains to be done. Because we want to become members of the EU, but for this we still have difficult homework to complete.

President Barroso was also interested in what we have achieved in the economic plan. I had the pleasure to inform him that our economy is back on the track of steady progress and continued growth that we expect from this year on. In addition, I assured President Barroso on our determination to accomplish all those reforms that have been deferred year after year, and let him know our determination to undertake as soon as possible the territorial and administrative reform, which will be a new and very solid grounding for going forward with the integration process, as well.

By all means, we are committed not only to be involved but also to create favorable conditions for a full and quality inclusion, be it through the “High Level Dialogue” which will take place in September, or through the National Committee for European Integration, a special forum where all actors and observers will work together to speed up the steps towards full accession.

The President showed enthusiasm also for the visit I will pay in Belgrade, since it means taking new steps towards the development and normalization of regional relations, and relations between Albania and Serbia.

I let the President know that it is our will to take on a new role in the region and to cooperate with the other countries so that the EU will become more and more aware that the Balkans need the EU as much as the EU needs the Balkans. The future of the Balkans is within the EU, but EU’s future cannot be understood if the Balkans are not a part of the EU.

Before giving the floor to Mr. President, who will later address the Parliament, I would like once again to thank him for his visit here and express my gratitude for his constant support. I would like also to let him know that he is welcomed as an unforgettable friends of Albania and Albanians, to come here after November when he will have more spare time and see things that he has not seen yet, such as the great beauty of this country that we have decided to transform into a country with which Europe fall in love.

(to be continued…)