An informal meeting of the prime ministers of the Western Balkan countries and the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi to discuss the European Union’s financial and economic support package to speed up the economic and social integration of the Western Balkans into the bloc.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Edi Rama issued a press statement:
Given that you had to endure unfavourable conditions due to the extreme heat for several hours and taking notice that no joint press conference was scheduled given that this was an informal meeting, I deemed it appropriate to invite and inform you about today’s gathering, thanking you all for taking the trouble to be here today. I am also ready to answer any question about the meeting.
You already know that Albania will host the next Berlin Process Summit in October, the first to take place outside the European Union, and we are working very seriously with the German Federal Chancellery, as well as with other stakeholders, to make sure that this Summit yields a significant outcome for the Western Balkans and serves as another major further step vis-à-vis what lies at the core of the Berlin Process, namely continued facilitations regarding the interaction among the Western Balkan countries, but also to possibly take another crucial step in our relations with the European Union.
We discussed the latter with the EU Commissioner Várhelyi, who is tasked with the neighbourhood and enlargement policies and the regional issues.
For some time now Albania has been making efforts and pushing for a new approach of viewing things regarding the Western Balkans in terms of the huge existing gap between the EU member states and our countries, particularly in the wake of consecutive shocks due to the pandemic, the energy crisis and the Ukrainian conflict that have forced the European Union to allocate considerable funding to support its member states and this has further widened the gap between us and the EU member states in terms of additional capacities and domestic opportunities of each country.
Taking into account not only the repercussions, but also the general context and the challenges that are as much common as individual, we have sought, coordinating with others, to build another approach, which would imply additional financial and economic assistance for the Western Balkan countries in tandem with the progress of the EU accession negotiation process.
This is something that has started taking shape and a new financial and economic support package for the Western Balkans is being prepared and it was for this reason that we met today with the Commissioner to discuss, consult and share opinions on how more financial support is provided to the Western Balkan countries on one side and how certain paths can open up for the Western Balkans to integrate into the single European market without having to wait to join the bloc first.
This is somehow the panorama of today’s gathering.
–Mr. Rama, you said that today’s informal meeting focused on the new EU economic support package. Would you elaborate which are the areas Albania plans to demand more financial support for and, although this could be still too early to predict, what is the amount Albania can possibly be entitled to under this plan due to be revealed on October 16, the day when the Berlin Process Summit is scheduled to take place and, second, do you regret that your little brother, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, didn’t attend the meeting today?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: It is still too early to talk about concrete things, because the plan is still being discussed. I don’t know whether you have provided coverage of the statement by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who sent a clear message about the objectives of this new plan during Bratislava meeting. In the meantime, it is also still too early to discuss and guess about the amount of support any of the countries will be entitled to benefit. What matters most right at this moment is that the region is seen as a whole and all work for the region as a whole, because this is how the European Union sees us, despite the fact that there are countries in the region that are far ahead with the integration process and there are countries still lagging behind.
As far as the areas of support under the new EU plan are concerned, I can say this was one of the topics we focused today and what matters most is that how this plan would integrate with our existing support mechanisms from the European Union.
As for the second question, I don’t find it very interesting, because they were all invited and whoever wished to attend the meeting, they did so, and whoever couldn’t, they didn’t.
– Mr. Rama, over the last few months, senior officials from your party have been involved in various scandals, starting with the former Durres Mayor Vangjush Dako, who has been arrested, as well as former Kukes Mayor Safet Gjici, who has been sent to jail too. Later, a Socialist Party lawmaker, Rrahman Rraja resigned after his family members were protagonists of a brutal violence episode that was made public. Most recently, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mr. Arben Ahmetaj, who is currently on the run, is wanted for waste treatment concessions contracts. My question is: It is definitely about personal responsibility when it comes to all of these cases, but do you feel any kind of responsibility as party leader?
The second question, will the waste treatment concessions or the incinerator contracts will be revoked given that the owners of these incinerators keep receiving state budget funds although being wanted by justice system?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: For all these questions you should just click and access my Facebook account and refer to my message conveyed to all Albanian citizens, because it provides answers to all these questions.
–You haven’t for instance provided an answer regarding a previous episode involving Mr. Rraja some years ago, when you accused a police officer and branded him as a rogue for denouncing the son of the former lawmaker after he was again involved in violence. Do you think the recent episode in Fushe Kruje would repeat should you had publicly distance yourself from this incident back then?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: You should again access my Facebook page and refer to my message I conveyed to the Albanian citizens a few days ago and you will find the answer to this question in that message.
–A question about the Open Balkans initiative. Given that you have declared that 59% of Albanian citizens want the Open Balkans according to the findings of the National Consultation process, why are you depriving Albanians of this initiative now?
Prime Minister Edi Rama: You are wrong about the figure, because the support of the Albanian citizens for the Open Balkans initiative is much higher than 59% and I am not depriving them of anything and Albanians are wise and smart enough to grasp that this exchange is useless when it comes to the topic you made the question about.
Thank you very much!
