Prime Minister Rama hosted today the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, during her first visit to Albania. After their meeting, Prime Minister Rama and EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, held a joint press conference:
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Prime Minister Edi Rama: Good morning and thank you very much!
Honorable Commissioner and dear Marta, It is a pleasure to welcome you here in Tirana, and from the outset, I want to repeat publicly that we in the region have eagerly awaited your appointment because you are not only from the European Union, but you are also one of us, coming from a country in the region, Slovenia, which has shone on its path and is today a proud member of the EU.
I am particularly pleased that we are meeting at a time when we have reasons to be proud of what we have accomplished. You have reasons to support us without hesitation, but I want to emphasize that we do not take your support as something given once and for all, but as something we must earn every day. It is the support of a great institution with high demands, such as the EU, which we are fully aware that we must deserve every day because we want to become part of the united European family.
We know that there is no alternative precisely because there is no other alternative for individual freedom, no alternative for equality before the law, no alternative for coexistence in diversity, and no alternative for European standards of this coexistence.
We spoke with the Commissioner about the past, which has taught us in the most brutal way why our only path is the path to the EU.
On the other hand, we are very determined to successfully achieve the ambitious goal of completing the negotiations by 2027, and my ambition, our ambition, is for Albanians to receive the EU passport within this decade. And to be able, when they land at European airports, to enter through that corridor with the constellation of stars and not through that other corridor where it says: “Others.”
This is very important for us because our lives have been spent in the “others” category for centuries.
And lastly, because today it matters what you will say, not what I say, is that the Albanian parliament has on today the financial agreements for the Growth Plan that will pave the way for the start of financing with funds amounting to about 1 billion euros dedicated to Albania. So, dear Marta, we want our money!
EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos: Thank you, dear Prime Minister, dear Edi!
I love to be sunshine today here in Tirana, but I was told that if it’s raining when you come to visit, you have lucky feet. So, I sure have a lucky feet, because your country is doing really well on the EU path. In this geopolitics today, when nothing is impossible and everything is possible, I think one thing is very stable, and the thing is that your path to the EU is for sure, and it is happening, and it is real.
I like seeing you and your team with Melinda, the Chief Negotiator, being so passionate about your country, and on the other hand about the European Union, and I came here to show you my full support to your ambitious goals, my team is telling me, but I think that these are realistic goals, not just ambitious goals.
I quote you that you want that we finish the negotiations until 2027, and we are on a very good way. We have good prospects that we will open clusters two and three in the first half of the year, or let’s say all the remaining clusters in this year. But we know exactly, both of us, it is not only about opening, it is also about closing. But yes, I’m sure that with all the reforms you are doing and are still to be made, that this is possible.
So, we really wait, Albania, to join the European Union because you deserve it and because with you inside the European Union, Europe will be not just bigger but also stronger. The next important point is that you are an island of stability. You have good neighborly relations, and this is one point we too often forget. You are a champion in regional cooperation, and this is also very important.
I’m the first commissioner coming from this region, and I know what it means to fight to become a member of the EU. It doesn’t come just like this, so you have to do something for this. But once you are in the club or even before, as you are now, this is my commitment to do everything possible that this will be our common success. And of course, your 100 percent alignment with the CFCP, with the security and foreign policy, it’s amazing.
Yes, I hope that today we will get the ratification in the parliament of the two agreements which are necessarily that we will be able to give Albania nearly one billion of euros, some in loans, some in grants, to do all the necessarily reforms and, of course, to enable you to be ready for joining the EU.
So, this is the main point of the growth plan, which is also part of the gradual integration where you are doing quite well. You have stated many times that it would be good that the candidate countries are becoming, before becoming a member, are becoming part of the European Union already. And this is happening with the CEPA. This is happening with Green Line. This will happen also with the growth plan. And, you know, I am amazed about your reputation for hospitality and kindness before I was told now I can experience. It is not just, you know, how you host me here. It is about how you host the College of Europe. It is about how the European Parliament has decided to open an office, a regional office, here in Tirana. It is about regional and youth cooperation office here. It is about the Balkan Summit you have organized in 22. It is about Berlin process you have organized last year. It is about the European political community, which will happen this year. And, of course, you have been successful and got the organization of the European Under-21 Championship in football, which will happen then in 2027.
So, it is huge what you are doing.
Of course, we both know now focus needs to be turned to the implementation of the reforms which have been adopted, and to accelerate the confirmation of all the other reforms, especially in the justice reform, which I really fully support. And this is a cornerstone of the EU integration process. And let me recall that the progress on the fundamentals, we have started with fundamentals last year. We will close with the fundamentals. We’ll continue to determine the path of negotiations. We are both goal-oriented, not just passionate about the European way. And goal-oriented means that we know how to deliver. And we will be able to deliver also if the public of Albania, the people of Albania will support what we are doing.
That’s why, in my opinion, it is really important that the accession process is a whole-of-society project, when it is not about what you, the government, are doing and what the parliament is doing, but also that we include civil society organizations, that we include actually every city, every village, that people will be able to recognize why is it important, or why are you entering into the European Union.
So, this is, which I see the more task on your side, the task and my commitment on my side is that I will have to take care that Albania will be more known in the member states. That’s why we will start soon a communication campaign where we want to show why Albania should become not just a member of the EU, but what will be value-added to the European Union if we take you in. In this respect, we will soon do a special survey on the enlargement, so how are the sentiments of the enlargement here in your country, and we will build on this. I would like to bring more and more journalists to your country to see the life here. And of course, also my commitment is that we will also consider the member states.
So, when I say that we could finish the negotiating process until 2027, we need the support of the member states so that my call to action also to media is please help us that Albania will be more known and recognized in the member states because this will make the decision-making process on the side of the member states much, much easier. I have said one commitment. Communication campaign, I have another commitment which I would like to propose, but before I tell you about my commitment, or perhaps I tell you first, then I have a present for you. So, as I see it, this is more of your duty, while my task and commitment are to take measures and ensure that Albania is recognized even more in the EU member states. For this reason, we will launch a communication campaign through which we want to show why Albania will become not just an EU member state, but also what added value Albania will bring to the European Union if you become part of our family.
So my commitment is always I’m very sporty, coming from the sporty family, and of course we have been also seeing the last European Championship in football, so I learned how fast you can be, so Nedim Bayrami shoot a goal in 23rd second, so now I understand how you want to be so quick in the European Union, and this was against Italy, so congratulations to this football plays a special role in the life of Albanian society, but basketball had played a special role in your life. So, my present for you today, and this is actually symbolic for whole Albania, we want to see Albania in Team Europe, and you will probably know why we give you the number 11.
And my commitment is I’m not able to play basketball with you, but my commitment is when we will finish the negotiating process, I will climb the highest mountain in Albania, Korab, 2764, which is 100 meters less than the highest mountain in Slovenia, so I hope I will be able to manage it, but I would like you to go with me.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: If, when we join the European Union, I give you a new and fresh Prime Minister who will come with you and climb to the highest point. Truly, thank you, I am very touched by this. 11 is an excellent number.
I am very committed and proud to have a team that is very dedicated, and I want to express here, in front of you and of your delegation, my gratitude and thanks to Majlinda and Adea, who are the two ladies of the EU of Albania, and also to everyone else who is committed to this cause. And last but not least, Ambassador Ferit Hoxha, who is our Lionel Messi in foreign affairs because we sent him across the ocean to play in America, then brought him back to Europe, so he’s the one who handles the tough stuff and does its best. I’m sure the foreign minister agrees with me, and he comes from a region of Albania where men are supposed to be the stronger, so he will accommodate himself to pave the way for the ladies.
Thank you, Marta, thank you. Let’s hear some questions.
Journalist:
The first question is for the Commissioner. With the gift you gave the Prime Minister, it seems like you know who will be leading the government in 2027, but I would like to ask you, how much will elections affect the technical process? If there is a political rotation, we have heard the Prime Minister mention that this might delay the process, what is your opinion on this?
Mr. Rama, in this mandate, you had the anti-corruption challenge. You set up a special commission and also a special commission for disinformation. Will this continue to be a priority if you have a fourth mandate?
We saw the two heads of the special commissions are in open waters. If I were to refer to what you said in “SY m’Sy” about some opposition candidates, are they on open lists, or do you think anyone who will head this work can lead these commissions well?
EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos:
I don’t expect that the elections will slow down the European process, because it is so far going on and so deep that all the reforms which are in the process, I’m sure will be going on. The reforms are not because of the European Union, the reforms are because of the transformation process here in Albania. Of course, people of Albania will decide what kind of government you will have next, but in my opinion, Europe is so embodied here in Albania that I only see the European future.
Prime Minister Edi Rama:
First of all, yes, it is true. We have undertaken a journey into uncharted waters, and we have done this from the very first day I took on the leadership of the largest political force of Albanians in opposition when we decided that we would radically reform the justice system. This has been a vision and an inseparable objective of ours until we succeeded in the first mandate to pave the way for a historic, transformative process that is truly unique in the region to fight and dismantle the myth of impunity and to establish the foundations of a system of equality before the law.
Today, for the first time in the history of the Albanian state, since 1912 when Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire and for the first time established its own state, we have people with high public profiles linked to political power who are before the law, who are investigated and judged by prosecutors and judges independent from the government, independent from political power. I remember when we carried out the justice reform and we conducted surveys to ask citizens, the support for justice reform was massive. It was one of those rare cases where Albanians, who are generally divided even when it comes to whether it’s raining or sunny, were on the same wavelength. Over 90% wanted the justice reform, they wanted the vetting of judges and prosecutors, they wanted this process to be opened. But when asked, “Do you think that in your lifetime you will ever see a minister or any politician in front of justice?”, those 90% who said they wanted reform turned into 90% within those who said, “No, we don’t think so.”
Today, this is a reality, and if you ask me to give a single reason for everything that we have achieved in these years, it is this. We have managed to break a taboo and make a very strong turn in a very, very old tradition, one that is completely opposite to the standards of coexistence in the European family.
Naturally, this wouldn’t have happened without the European Union and without the European perspective. I’ve said this before, and I repeat it today: even the Afghans wanted to build a democracy, to create a system of individual freedom and equality before the law, but they couldn’t succeed. Similarly, the Iraqis likely wanted this as well, but they didn’t succeed, and there’s no chance for anyone to succeed with a tradition that is against these principles and a lack of institutions as part of their history, except for those who have the blessing of the European Union. And we have this blessing because we are in the heart of Europe, with the European Union there, with all its knowledge, to show us, to guide us, to help us, and to monitor how to build a state governed by law.
That said, of course, this process is still in its early stages. Of course, it has its challenges. Of course, it’s not just about judicial independence, but also about democratic standards. It’s about the protection of individual liberties and human rights by the judiciary itself. This is a process, and we are insatiable in this process for results. We want more and more in all of these processes, which is why we’ve even set up a parliamentary commission that will remain there until we join the European Union. It will be there to ensure that the parliament is the center coordinating all other forces and factors in the service of good governance, the rule of law, and anti-corruption, while always protecting and fiercely guarding the independence of the powers.
This is all, and as for the question about open sea vs. closed sea, that’s another discussion. The Socialist Party cannot be the party of those who are already inside. The Socialist Party must also be the party of those outside it. It is a tool that should be in the hands of society to use, and those who are inside and have control over this tool cannot use the Socialist Party as a means to prevent others from being disposed to help build Albania. Therefore, with the system we have, we prefer to put people in the closed lists who otherwise wouldn’t make it to parliament, and in the open lists, we put people who have all the opportunities, the experience, the connections, and the knowledge of the party organization to get their votes. It’s that simple.
Journalist
Albania is currently in an intensive negotiation process, with only two months left before the parliamentary elections. How important is the standard in these elections, especially in the context of the integration process, considering that it has not been mentioned by the international community, unlike in previous elections? So far, there hasn’t been any response at least.
Prime Minister, following your political rhetoric daily, we understand that your electoral campaign is being built around the European integration process and ambitions to join the EU. Will the PS (Socialist Party) have a concrete electoral program aside from integration, which is not always dependent on the government?
EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos: The parliamentary elections are one of the most important processes in democracy, in every country, and this is really a choice for the people to exercise their democratic duty to go and vote. So, I hope that the turnout will be high. I also hope that the elections will be free and fair. I am sure that this will be enabled. And I also welcome the decision that for the first time Albanians living abroad will be able to be part of these elections.
And I hope that this whole campaign will somehow mirror the will of the people of Albania to become a member of the EU. And I hope that all the political parties who will be part of the campaign will also speak about the European way, about everything that is important so that people could make at the election day the informative decision.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Now, based on the way you phrased the question, I must say that integration and membership in the EU is not a journey by bus or plane to Brussels, but it is the creation here of all the conditions and standards to be a member of that family over there, and it is the inclusion of this country in that family, which means expanding the walls of that family to include Albania.
So, Albania becomes the European Union! Why do I say this? This cannot happen if we do not have a program. We do not have an electoral program to come to power because we are the government, but we have a program for all sectors, and we see Albania in 2030 as a member of the EU through the realization of this program we have. Naturally, the work of this program will be made known to the public, but the entire outline of the program is a passport for you to write the European Union, the Republic of Albania, and when you go to Brussels, you walk through the first corridor and not others and be an accredited journalist in the European Union.
The same thing for everyone, for everyone without exception. For journalists, for students who, when they go to university, should not be foreign students according to quotas and extra fees, but should be European students. For all those who want to go, not just to see, but also to stop, not just to stop, but also to see if they can work somewhere in the EU without having to pretend they are persecuted when they are not, without having to pretend that someone is chasing them from behind and they need protection, but simply offer what they can offer to this family and what the family can give them, and then return again. And if, while they are there, they need to go to the doctor, they should go to the doctor just like they go here in a hospital, in an ambulance of the same family. And they should have the same conditions as others and be reimbursed the same way as others, without getting into funds, because Marta has the funds for the moment, I don’t want to touch that topic, but this is the program, and naturally, to do these things, when Marta says in 2027, we want to close negotiations, negotiations are not just talks, they are based on results. They are based on what we need to do, not what we need to say. To give you something extra, you need to do your homework, otherwise, there’s nothing.
Forget about what Marta says, we will go to the mountain together and enjoy ourselves. After we’ve done the homework. Did you hear what she said? Did she say, come on, let’s go to the mountain now together. Do your homework, she said, enter the EU, then we will go to the mountain together. This is the European Union!
Marta has been an Olympic champion, did you know this? Olympic champion, gold medal. So, she could have said come on, let’s go. She didn’t say that! She said, we enter the EU, then we’ll see!
Thank you!
