Joint press conference of Prime Minister Edi Rama and President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the new school and kindergarten in Fushe-Kruje, rebuilt through the EU funds earmarked for the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction programme:
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Good afternoon everyone!
Today we welcome with special pleasure the President of the European Commission, Ursula Vo Der Leyen, at an important moment for Albania’s progress on the path towards the European Union, but also for the common challenges of the mankind and the communities within Europe, like the fight against pandemic, the battle with climate change that have brought in novelties that are less than desired for us and the environment we are living in, as we have seen by the way most recently with the threatening forest fires, which have dramatically increased throughout the world, and particularly in this corner of Europe as well. In the meantime, amid these especial times of challenges, I would also announce the good news about the reconstruction and the radical transformation of the learning and living conditions for all those families that were hit viciously by the earthquake. I believe that today they can see with their own eyes that reconstruction is bringing a new quality in their lives and the lives of their children, in an ongoing process, where step by step we are closing all the wounds inflicted by that unforgettable tragedy.
At this point, I would like to underline the fact that this is not a protocol visit by one of the highest European authorities and also the President of the most important European institution, namely the European Commission, but it is the visit by a woman, who has personally and wholeheartedly committed with all her energies to mobilize all the capacity of her office and the capacity of the European Commission to support those families, to support those children, to support those who were worst-hit by the earthquake and to support Albania and Albanians themselves. For that reason, the President deserves a very special thank, not only a protocol and formal thank, but also a friendly, deeply and totally sincere appreciation and gratitude for whatever she has done from the very first moment she learned about the earthquake. She immediately acted and she didn’t rest for a moment until her personal effort, jointly with other European leaders, was crowned to successfully host a donors’ conference, which is a landmark for the European Union itself in terms of swift actions and volume of the pledges collected there. And it didn’t stop there, as things continued with the commitment of the President to see disbursement of such funds at a speed that is not common for the European Union, which has its own pace and doesn’t set itself apart for particularly being quick in these things. She did so in order for the funds to be made available as soon as possible to the teams that were mobilized by the European Commission here, by the Ambassador and our dear friend Luigi Soreca, to design the projects and host the public hearings, to involve other institutions, ranging from the UNDP and the likes, so that results were yielded as soon as possible.
Here we are today. This is one of the 16 schools rebuilt under the funds pledged at the donors’ conference and especially the pledge and grants provided by the European Commission and this is actually only one fourth of the schools slated to be constructed and are in the process of being constructed under this Programme. We are here at a site that is a vivid and tangible testimony of the solidarity, of the spirit of cooperation, of the friendship and truthfulness of this relation with the European Union. It is an obvious, tangible and concrete reason for us not to lose patience with the European Union, which is indeed exhausting in a certain aspect that we know too well, but at the same time it is a powerful and positive force serving people and the societies, which belong to this blessed continent.
We certainly talked with the EC President about the EU integration process, the ludicrous situation Albania is at the moment because of the veto Bulgaria has imposed on North Macedonia and this is actually holding us hostage, even though we have delivered on all our tasks and wait to sit around at the table with the European Union and finally start the accession negotiations with the first Intergovernmental Conference. Even in this respect though, I have got absolutely nothing to say, but just thank President Von Der Leyen, who is a staunch and unconditional advocate of the process. She is the one for a long time – even prior to taking this office – she is one of those who are convinced of the importance of the Western Balkans, of the strategic nature of the Western Balkans’ integration into the European Union and she is relentlessly making efforts to encourage the process.
The European Commission, for the sake of truth, has been recommending opening of the accession negotiations over the years, until a final decision was also made by the Council, but, as I’ve said previously, the Commission is quite strict, but it is also objective and predictable, because the Commission is actually based on facts, evidence and reports on objective fulfilment of the tasks. But when it comes to the European Council, however, there is where the politics starts to play out, the dynamics and internal interests of one state or another start to play out and consensus is required. And if all the 27 members do not agree, it would take just a member state to block the whole process, just like it is the case today, with Bulgaria being at this moment the one to hold the process hostage for its own reasons and I have got nothing to say about this, but only thank the President for the effort she is making to unblock this situation.
It might sound an exaggeration that the word “thank you” is being so frequently used in this communication, but I have to tell you this is truly a thank you to a person and a European personality like Ursula Von Der Leyen, as far as I the Prime Minister of Albania, and as far as Albanians are concerned, thanks are never enough. And this is very sincere and very true.
We also talked about the progress of the regional cooperation. It is well-known that Ursula Von Der Leyen is one of the close collaborators of Chancellor Merkel, who is the person who launched the Berlin Process. For this reason too, the President is very well acquainted with the process, she fully supports the process and she sees the process as it really is; a process serving efforts to align and bring the Western Balkans closer to the European Union, as well as building the capacities within the Western Balkans. In this respect and ahead of the Western Balkans Summit due to take place in Slovenia in the next few days, we discussed all the issues pertinent to this process. We definitely agree on the indispensability for the process to be taken forward, and the long-awaited peace, which has yet to be finally settled and it can’t happen without addressing the issue of recognition of Kosovo once and for all, which certainly requires patience, dialogue and cooperation, it requires what the President rightly underlined at our meeting, building mutual trust between the two sides. It would be very difficult to achieve the desired goal unless such a mutual trust between the two sides is built. This would take a lot of patience, wisdom and maturity.
Thank you once again Madame President for your visit! Thank you very much for coming here, where you can see for yourself one of the works being built thanks to our cooperation, but first and foremost thanks to you and the Commissioner Varhelyi, thanks the European Commission, thanks the Delegation of the European Commission to Albania, which has actually become one with the community, with the interests, the needs and aspirations of Albanians, and which really works as a dedicated team that although it has to be also a spokesperson of not very desired news over the bureaucracy in Brussels, it actually overcompensates this with a highly positive energy in the field, where the peoples’ lives are truly changing, just like the life of children, teaching staff and the community here has changed too.
*European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen: Thank you very much Prime Minister, dear Edi,
I come, indeed, as a friend and as a partner. And I could not have chosen a better start for my tour through the Western Balkans than here in Albania and starting with inaugurating the Korb Muça Kindergarten and here the school – fantastic. It was impressive to see, to have a look at the children over there, the boys playing basketball, the girls with the volleyball but also the class with the chemistry. I wish I could have sent my children to such a fantastic school – really, really amazing. And I really want to thank all those, the team here, that have made that possible. And to keep now the school up and running, without you that would not have been possible. So many, many thanks for that. This is amazing. And it is a very beautiful symbol for our friendship and the enduring cooperation between Albania and the European Union, and of our common future. We have seen the future. We have seen the children, the boys and girls. And let me be very clear, Albania’s future is in the European Union. We are friends and partners. And as you have said, Edi, we want to have this work together. The European Commission and me, myself, we stand firmly behind the commitment.
Albania has clearly delivered all that we have been asking for. And I know you have come a long way. That was a difficult process. You put an enormous effort in it. You were successful. You are successful. So I really commend you on that. And now it is us who have to deliver. We are starting the first Intergovernmental Conference, I am aware of that. So we are working hard on our side, and I think we owe it to all these young people who believe in a European future, who see themselves, of course, as Europeans in their lives.
And let me congratulate you on the election of Tirana as the European Youth Capital in 2022. Indeed, youth is our greatest wealth and youth will be the driving force for our common future. In many ways, this common future has already started, not only here with kindergarten and school, but of course working very closely together on our main and common priorities, ensuring a lasting recovery from the pandemic. So there are two main pillars we are working right now intensively on together: One is vaccination and overcoming the pandemic. And the other one is of course strengthening the economic recovery.
So to the first topic, vaccination: Here, too, Team Europe stands by your side. We had a difficult start in the European Union, with our friends in the Western Balkans. We know that. But we were able to overcome this difficult start. Team Europe donated over 450,000 doses to Albania. And let me assure you, we have discussed that in our bilateral, more will come. We know that vaccination saves lives. It protects you and it protects your beloved ones. And it is vaccination that we need. Not only the vaccines, but vaccinations will help us to overcome the pandemic. So we also need to boost the vaccination rate. It is a topic in the European Union. It is a topic in the Western Balkans. Trust matters, facts matter, science is clear – I just wanted to offer that we can help you to boost your information campaign, to share knowledge, to create trust, to build trust. And the EU funding could be used for those purposes too, if you wish so.
Finally, on the pandemic topic, I want to congratulate you that Albania has just recently joined the EU COVID Certificate, the platform. This is good news because it will of course facilitate safe travel between the European Union and Albania. So when you are fully vaccinated with an EMA-approved vaccine, the only thing you need is the QR code, and no restriction, travel is free to both sides. That is a big step forward.
On the recovery: Indeed, here we are investing significantly to address the emergency of the crisis, right now. We mobilised EUR 3.3 billion to support the region. Albania has received EUR 230 million in grants and financing to help you deal with the consequences of the pandemic, as we did it in the European Union where we injected a lot of liquidity into the economy just to overcome the difficulties of the pandemic. So you know the topics, it is from vital medical supplies to wider regional economic recovery packages.
But now it is also important to look forward in the future. And we must look at the investments that will ensure a lasting recovery, a strong economy. And it is not only about money, it is also about, again, finding a partnership of equals. Because like in the European Union, Albanian citizens, and especially Albanian youth, deserve a greener, more sustainable and more digital future that we are working on. And they deserve good quality, well-paid jobs. That is the aim we have together and that is what our economic and investment plan for the Western Balkans is all about. In few words, you know the basis, we have put EUR 9 billion on the table and important is for us – and that works very well – that you design, you propose the quality, the mature projects that are needed, so that together we can then leverage up to EUR 20 billion more in investment. That is our goal, we have started already this year. This year, the plan has already made available EUR 500 million. And I am very pleased to announce that we will propose an additional EUR 600 million still for this year. So let us make this plan a success, a joint success with the right projects.
We are working hand in hand – and I really thank you for the excellent cooperation – to identify those good projects that create jobs and that connect the region. For example, for Albania – Edi, if I may quote that – this includes the rehabilitation of the railway line linking Tirana to Durrës with Podgorica and also the rehabilitation of the Fierza hydropower plant, just to name a few of many other very interesting projects you have designed, you have identified and you are bringing forward.
The economic and investment plan indeed will create jobs and will create growth in the region, but it is also crucial to support the integration within the region. So all six partners must move forward quickly on the common regional market. And thank you very much for emphasising the importance of the Berlin Process. I stand fully behind the Berlin Process. I commend you on the steps forward. There is more to do and you have partners at your side. You know that – the two of us have been discussing that many times – indeed, it is important now to implement, to step forward, create this momentum, so that we have a success on the plan. I say that because the speedier the process, the speedier the EU accession process too. Because, as I said, Albania belongs in the European Union. And there is no question about it. I fully support moving forward on the accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia as soon as possible. You have described the difficulties. But trust me, I really am determined to make it happen, that we have our first Intergovernmental Conference, so that we can start the accession talks. You know that – the two of us have been discussing that – we are working hard on it and you can rely on me. I really want to bring this process forward, so that we can start before the end of the year. That is the goal.
You mentioned another topic, indeed that the region needs cooperation and reconciliation. You have done a lot on that topic. The current rising tensions between Kosovo and Serbia is very concerning, is worrying. It is essential to lower the tension and to return to the dialogue. The European Union, too, was built on dialogue, initially. And it was built initially on economic development. And this led to understanding of both sides, this led to healing wounds and this led finally to reconciliation. This is a long process. And this is a process that leads to a peaceful and thriving future. That is what we want to achieve.
So to conclude, Prime Minister, dear Edi, I want to commend Albania on the progress it is making with the judicial reform. Here too, we are often looking forward in the future, but we should not forget what has been done in the past, the long way you have come. I want to commend you on your progress in the fight against organised crime, with new anti-corruption structures. It has been a great success and I know you are working now on the fight against money laundering and on the remaining by-laws on minority rights. Consolidating this track record in an area of fundamental reforms is crucial, and I really welcome the consistent work on it.
Now, let me say, Prime Minister, that I am looking forward to seeing you indeed next week at our EU-Western Balkans Summit in Slovenia. There too, we will together chart the course of our common future. And as a future member of the European Union, I also want you, I want Albania, to fully take part in the Conference on the Future of Europe because we need to hear from the people of Albania.
Thank you so much!
– Distinguished Madame President, a solution to the problem between Bulgaria and North Macedonia is not in sight. Taking notice of such situation, in order for Albania not to continue remain hostage, as the Prime Minister Edi Rama just put it, do you think there is a need for a decouple between North Macedonia and Albania regarding the first Intergovernmental Conference with the European Union? I would also wish to receive a comment from Prime Minister Rama on this issue. Thank you!
*EC President Von der Leyen: We have been working hard to launch this first Intergovernmental Conference and I want to reemphasize the fact that you have done your bit. This is very important. We have asked a lot from you and you have delivered. We will do everything possible to overcome the hurdles we have at the moment. And this should in no way hinder the EU enlargement process and I want to be very clear on this, and I very much hope that we can launch the first Intergovernmental Conference before the end of the year. This is my goal.
PM Rama: The President mentioned it previously and she also repeated it in her answer that her goal is to finally have the first ICG before the end of the year, where Albania will sit around the table with the European Union and formally start the accession negotiations. However, this is the President’s goal, and as far as I am concerned, I have said this previously and I will reiterate it; I do no longer bet on any date, on any timeline and wait in full serenity both outcomes, no matter it will happen or not. We have prepared ourselves for a weeding several times and you know very well that the guests never showed up. We are no longer going to prepare for this wedding, and instead we will continue to show our love through deeds. But when the weeding is going to take place it is up to the guests, it is up to the other side. So it is very clear. All we can do is only our job and we do it not because we are forced to do so by Brussels, Berlin, Paris or the entire united Europe as a whole, but because this is what our future, the future of our children dictates us to do. We are lucky enough to be located at the heart of Europe. It is a blessing for our children, who are born and brought up at the heart of this continent and there is just a wall dividing us from the best space the mankind has ever built for peace and security and this is the European Union. Just imagine if we were located in a different continent or imagine if we were in the desert and what would have been in store for the future of our children. This is our destiny, this is our blessing and we will continue to make best use of the know-how of the European Union, the EU experience and the EU assistance through the process. This is irreplaceable process for us to grow ourselves, to modernize ourselves, to build functional democratic institutions, the rule of law and we need all of these for ourselves and our children. We don’t need them for any of our friends and partners, because they already have all these standards in place. Whether the negotiations will open or not, whether the chapters open or not, whether they are closed or not, this is all a matter up to the European Union. To be more precise, it is even not up to the Commission, but to the European Council. Even more so, it is not up to the Council, but it is up even to a single member or any member of the European family that may wake up irritated with another country and takes hostage a third a third one too. So, that’s how the story goes. What’s most important to me is the fact that the European Commission, as confirmed by the President today, think that Albania has delivered and has fulfilled its tasks in respect to the European Union. This is what matters most. When it comes to ourselves and the future, a lot remain to be done and therefore we don’t have to lose focus, we should not lose patience, we should not lose hope and ambition, but we must move forward.
–As everyone considers it and taking notice of the current situation in Kosovo-Serbia border, the Western Balkans are a powder keg that could just explode at any moment. So, taking into consideration the situation and bearing in mind the disaffection and the disappointment the Prime Minister referred to, considering that the countries in the region are waiting to join the EU and this is actually being delayed for decades now, do you think that the Open Balkans would be a way of stabilizing the region and bring peace you already mention, or is that a way for this region to distant themselves even further from the European Union?
*President Von der Leyen: I think that if we look at the economic progress, the deepening of economic ties, and building up a common regional market, the Berlin Process is the framework on which we are working and it is the Process that is really driving also the integration process forward with its all benefits for all six Western Balkan countries and which is of course to the benefit of economies. This was our experience with the European single market and this will also be the experience here with the common regional market. Any initiative that is within the Berlin Process and any initiative that is inclusive, cooperative and working together, is welcomed. So, I think we should not be much picky on different words, but on the content that is proposed and an open process, an inclusive process taking everyone along and inviting everyone in to deepen the ties, to improve the cooperation between different economies in the region and have really a deep integration of the economies, this is within the Berlin Process a good one.
PM Rama: Since I was quoted, I would like to repeat or clarify, I am not disappointed. Because to be disappointed you have to be fooled, but I haven’t been fooled for years now that this process is predictable. So, I don’t actually feel disappointed. I fully understand what happens in the European Union, I fully understand what happens in the European Council, with a country happening to go into elections, followed by another member state going into elections too, and third parties come up all of a sudden, finding another excuse and this is actually how it works. So, there is nothing actually for one to be fooled, let alone be disappointed. It is the way how the European Union is organized. It takes patience, it takes time, and it takes calmness. What is important for us is not whether we held or not a Zoom conference. What matters most is that we keep doing our job. As long as we have the Commission on our side, we enjoy the assistance, the know-how and entire expertise of the EU, as long as we have our goals ahead and we deliver on them, then we have done our bit. The rest doesn’t depend on us. And we have no reason to be fooled or be disappointed when it is all about something that doesn’t depend on us. It is as simple as that. I am saying it very straight forwardly, without any nuance of irony or cynicism, because this is the reality. We can’t change the world. All we can do is to change Albania. The European Union can be changed by those who have founded it and are part of it today, if they certainly wish to change it, or as long as they can change it. It is up to them. We can’t change it. We can’t force them, we must simply impose ourselves on the future by working hard. For this, the European Union is an irreplaceable ally.
–Madame President, until lately Albanians were avid supporters of the European Union. What would you say to an Albanian citizen who was a supporter of the EU, but when he sees that Albania is being slammed the door on its face by the leaders of the EU member states and perhaps he has somehow become a euro sceptic. What would you tell to that person?
And a question to the Prime Minister, is patience the only thing we need, or could there be a positive leverage mechanism to pressure the EU?
*President Von der Leyen: My answer is that the door is open and is opening more and more. That is important. You have come a long way and Albania has worked hard to make the change for the better. And you should take pride in that. I really commend you for that. And the process itself is already of benefit for Albania. We want you by our side and I want to tell this Albanian citizen that you many, many friends in the European Union, including me, who are working hard to deliver on the goal that Albania joins the EU. So let’s work each on our side, so that it becomes a reality and your place is in the European family.
PM Rama: I don’t understand what do you mean by pressuring the European Union? Since I cited an example of the weeding and the guests, I can tell you that if you love someone, you just love someone and that’s it. You can’t help it. And you can’t pressure and tell them either you marry me now, or I am going to see someone else. Because we have nowhere to go. That’s the essence. We are in love with the European Union. They are actually tired of the love for one other and may be they think: “why should we take another one that loves us? What we are going to do with that”? Once this stage is over, be sure that they will hug us and we will live together happily ever.
–Madame President, I would like to go back to the Open Balkans initiative. Does the European Union support the Open Balkans or the Berlin Process? Going back to you Prime Minister, why do we need a second process just to speed up the original, when we can channel all the energies and resources to the Berlin Process?
*President Von der Leyen: Once again, allow me say that the Berlin Process is already underway and there is an ownership here in the region to integrate a common market. This is absolutely right. You have my commitment also to push the Berlin Process forward. Within the Berlin Process, there can be initiatives as long as they are inclusive – as I have said – and as long as they honour the common goal of more integration of the regional market. They are very welcome. They have to be inclusive, they have to be forward looking and should really honour the goals and then they will have my full support.
PM Rama: I don’t actually know how many times I would have to reiterate it – but I would indeed do so tirelessly as long as it takes – that this is not a second process competing against the original one or even less so runs counter the first. The Open Balkans initiative, bluntly put it, can be reformulated to say it is up to us to move things forward, which means that the Berlin Process has been launched by the German Chancellor, it has been embraced by the EU, the European Commission, but it can’t advance at the pace we want it to move forward unless we don’t take over to further advance it, and instead sit idly and wait for Berlin, Paris or Brussels to give us a hand to take it forward. That’s it. It is the same process. They are not two different processes. The only difference is that the Berlin Process is lead by our friends and partners, who have got 1001 troubles to deal with themselves and don’t wake up every morning asking “how is the Berlin Process progressing?” That’s even not the last thing on their mind when they go to sleep. They don’t wonder how is this process in the Western Balkans is doing”, because Germany, France, Europe, the EU have got a lot of things to do before thinking of the Balkans. But we are here. And as soon as wake up in the morning, we wonder how our economy is doing today? How our trade is doing today? How our tourism sector is doing? What about exports and the interconnection?
These are the questions we pose ourselves every morning, and these are not questions that the German Chancellor, the EC President pose themselves, because they have so many other questions they should handle. At the end of the day, before we go to sleep, we ask ourselves what did we do in this respect today. While for our friends and partners, this is of course and important project, but it is not the project they work on all day long. For that reason, it is up to us to take over and move this process forward. What does that mean? It means that on all the principles and all the courses set forth by the Berlin Process, which is the core process, we could build, move ahead and de fact deliver on what is said and declared once a year, when the Berlin Process summit takes place. What happens is that we go from one summit to the next, but no progress is made.
We have the same statements on the principles being repeated over and over again, but eight years have already passed since the Process was launched, and we still have walls of non-tariff barriers in place, we still have to be unify the documents the exporters have to present so that they don’t wait on the borders for hours or even days at times. We still have all sorts of different regimes applied to the trade from one country to the other. Why? Should the German government or the French government come and deal with all these? Who is going to do that? Should German Chancellor and the President of France agree on how fruits and vegetables will be handled at the Balkan borders? Or is it us who should do this?
The last thing I have to say, even from the point of view of inclusivity, the Open Balkans is open to everyone. Whoever wants can join and whoever doesn’t wish to come in, they can do that, but doesn’t hold us hostage, because the Berlin Process has got this hostage-holding aspect, because it stipulates that if one of the six countries refuses to sign an agreement, the rest of us would have to wait. But here, we are under the condition, where every country is free to either participate or not and every country is free to sign an agreement they deem appropriate for them. We are not going to wait for anyone. If you don’t want to join, don’t do that and stay where you are, but we want to unleash and tap on the economic potential, the social potential and the peace potential that is here.
I have said it previously and I am repeating it today. The President mentioned it too. Don’t forget how European Union was founded. What is the Berlin Process after all? At the end of the day, the Berlin Process is a synthesis of the EU project applied in the Balkans. This is all. How did they do that after the war? Did they found the EU by turning the back on each other, by dealing with what they did to each other during the war? No. They did so by cooperating. And how did they do it? The first built the coal and steel community. Then they went further by signing the Rome Treaty on the common market. It took years to do that. And time then came when Willy Brandt, on behalf of Germany, apologized in 1969, but the ultimate peace and the final ice-breaking, ultimate closure of the past and the ultimate transformation of the French-German alliance in the united Europe happened many years later, when trust was built gradually under a series of initially minor and later major agreements. But what was the reason for those agreements? Was that to forget the war? Was that to forget crimes and forget the past? No! Those agreements were reached because in the meantime people have to go on with their lives, they have to feed themselves, people want to be educated, people must have more jobs and income. That’s why those agreements came in place. By putting friends and partners either in Brussels or Berlin in a crossfire, with some saying the Open Balkans is necessary, and with some others the initiative is useless, this makes our friends trying to keep the balance, so that no misbalances are triggered here. The Open Balkans is going to happen and year by year it will prove itself to be the right thing. The Open Balkans is going to be the space, where everyone will join, either sooner or later, and whoever joins the initiative later, they will just waste time for themselves, for their country and their people. It is as simple as that. The Open Balkans is a strategic interest and it is the mechanism that is the outcome of the Berlin Process.
Concluding, I told the President for every EU-funded project here in Albania, an entity is established to serve as an implementation unit.
So, the Open Balkans is the implementation unit under the Berlin Process. It is an implementation unit. We must be the implementation unit, as such a project is not going to be implemented neither in Germany, nor in France or Brussels, because first it is not their task and they don’t have time to do that, they have no possibility to do so and there is no reason to commit themselves to doing that, because they have been elected by their voters to do many more other things before thinking of doing the Open Balkans, or to deal with all the children across the Balkans.
Thank you!
*Simultaneous interpretation
