Joint press conference by Prime Minister Edi Rama and the President of the European Council Charles Michel after meeting at the Palace of Congresses:

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Hello everyone!

I believe the delay in beginning this press conference can be illustrated by the fact that it was a pleasure to meet again, this time with the President of the European Council – last time in the capacity of Belgium’s Prime Minister – as a true friend of Albania and a personality specifically interested in our region. We discussed extensively and we will continue to discuss after this conference, but I would like to first and foremost thank the President of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel, for extending his condolences and his special interest in the difficult situation in the aftermath of the November 26 last year, as well as for his personal commitment to helping so that the Donors’ Conference, called by the European Commission President on 17 February in Brussels, turns to be a success and the Albanian people, and around 15, 000 people who have lost their homes in particular, are conveyed the clear message that Europe stands by us and that Europe will not leave us alone as we are about to embark on the great rebuilding effort.

Of course, together with the EU Council President we also talked about the reform efforts and progress of the integration process. We shared our views on what has been accomplished to date and we need to further deliver on, as well as on the ongoing internal debate in the European Union about what has already become to be known the reform of EU enlargement methodology and I am basically I am really pleased that the President has expressed the will to be particularly committed to the region, not only in view of the further integration of countries individually, but also in strengthening regional cooperation and a new Brussels approach to the region’s economic and social development. He will certainly speak for himself – definitely much better than I do – about all of this, but concluding, in order not to take more time, I would like to thank him again because, anyway he has just assumed office in his new capacity and many important files are on his table to address. The fact that after a predawn signing of the UK withdrawal agreement at 01:30 a.m today he traveled to Tirana to open a new phase of dialogue with us and with the region as a whole is very significant to me.

Thank you very much again, dear friend, and the floor is yours!

*The President of the European Council, Charles Michel: Thank you very much Edi!

First of all, I would like to once again extend my personal condolences and the condolences of the European Union after the tragedy that struck your country in November, and to affirm our solidarity with the victims and the families. We are shocked.

And I also want to tell you about the European Union’s commitment to encouraging the European Commission to launch the Donors’ Conference due to be held in Brussels in a few weeks in February to make sure that beyond words of compassion, beyond words of empathy and support, there are acts taken to really come in support of the people of your country.

Mr. Prime Minister, dear Edi, we had once again the opportunity for a dialogue, which was intense and useful. We have often had the opportunity to meet when I served as the Prime Minister of Belgium. And today in my capacity as President of the European Council, it is an opportunity to discuss the relations between this country and more generally, between the Western Balkans and the European Union. We are going to have this subject on the table of the European Council in the coming weeks, and it is my responsibility to bring this debate forward. The opportunity not only to debate, but, I hope, to take decisions and guidelines on the future relationship between Albania and the European Union, between the Western Balkans and the European Union.

As President of the European Council, I see a set of three pillars in the strategy we should develop together. The first pillar is the need – and I would like to be able to explain this here – the need for European countries, for heads of state and government, to agree on the way on how they will think about the enlargement process. What are the reforms and modernizations to the enlargement process that the European countries wish to implement in order to make this process credible, more marked by confidence, more marked by political leadership? This is a debate we must have among the European countries. You know that very soon, the European Commission, after consulting the different Member States, will make proposals to the European Council on modernization of the principle and the enlargement process.

Second pillar: you know that the European Commission forwarded proposals to the European Council before last summer in connection with the opening of negotiations for Albania and for North Macedonia. We will have this debate again at the European Council on the basis of the new proposal to be made by the European Commission on this subject. And it seems important to me that we try at the European Council to clarify the direction we want for the future. We need the unanimity of all the Member States, and this need requires an intense, serious and solid dialogue between Member States. And it is my responsibility as President of the European Council to encourage alignment of views and I will encourage the European Council to make a decision.

And then, a third point is for me central, because it may allow us, I believe, to take very essential steps forward in connection with the other two first subjects I have just mentioned. The third point is the appeal I want to issue around the European table to ensure that there is a real investment and growth pact for the Western Balkans. An investment and growth pact which makes it possible to mobilize the various European levers, all possible levers, including the instruments available to try to encourage this economic development, which is a key condition for advancing social and economic conditions and encourage regional cooperation.

We affirm destiny of this country, the destiny of the Western Balkans must be entirely turned towards Europe. It is a very strong conviction and it is a necessity that we continue this close dialogue on regular basis. It also requires this commitment, which you reaffirmed, to pursue all efforts in terms of reforms, in terms of modernization, in terms of mobilization for the rule of law and for the fight against organized crime. All these subjects are essential to continue working hand in hand, to affirm once again today that the future of this region lies with Europe, it is deep-rooted in Europe and it is up to us to work together on this objective and ambition in the coming weeks and months.

It is imperative for the dialogue to continue, go on with work to build confidence credibility, asserting political leadership, reaping tangible results first for the citizens in the countries concerned, but also for taking steps forward.

And as I told you, I will have the pleasure in Brussels, the day before the donors’ conference in connection with your country, to host a meeting with all the Western Balkan leaders.  The meeting will also be an opportunity, I hope, to show and express this political impetus that we want to give. A new European institutional cycle has just started: The President of the European Commission and I took office at the beginning of December and I wanted very quickly after taking office, by my presence here with you, to affirm very strongly and unambiguously this ambition that we have to progress towards this objective that we share. Thank you!

– Mr. President, this is indeed a question we address to every EU representative over the past year. You say that a positive decision on Albania will hopefully be made, and meanwhile the Commissioner for the European Enlargement visited Albania last week. He sounded more optimistic that the European Council will make a positive decision on Albania’s bid to open the accession negotiations in March, but in the meantime we see that France has not backtracked from its skepticism. Have you taken any concrete step to convince France and the Netherlands?

-Mr. Prime Minister, you certainly have your plans, including lobbying meetings with these two countries, as you always do ahead of the European Council meetings?

*The President of the European Council Charles Michel: As you know, we in the European Council need a unanimous decision on this matter and it is very important that every country agrees on this topic. This is the reason why I outlined the three main pillars that should move forward. The work on these pillars has commenced, because very soon we will have the opportunity to engage in a debate about these three topics I just pointed out regarding the modernization of the enlargement process with several crucial political objectives with various European countries. This will be part of my job as President of the European Council in the coming weeks, as I would like to chair a strong and intense debate on how to take further steps forward. But my message is clear. As President of the European Council I can tell you today that there is no unanimity. We will host meetings in the coming weeks and month to explore ways how we can work together and how to take a unanimous position on all these topics I raised. However, there is an important issue that is part of the discussions at the last European Council meeting and I can affirm there is an unanimity on this issue. This is the shared ambition of the 28 EU member states, who consider that the future of the Western Balkans should lie with the EU in order to continue to expand our close cooperation and encourage reforms, sometimes tough ones. We know these reforms are difficult because we have to fight conservatism, we have to fight ingrained perceptions and this is not simple, it requires courage, it requires efforts. We should encourage those working on these reforms to show determination and commitment, but we also need to continue debate and discussions on this topic in the coming weeks and such a meeting is very important to me, including details about each country, in order for the European Council President to be a strong and helpful voice in this process.

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Now, I do understand this question, but you too should understand my reiteration of the same opinion. This we are going through is a phase when an internal debate is going on within the European Union and with all the gratitude for the attention that has never been missing vis-à-vis my need to convey my opinions either in Paris or other European capitals, I am aware and we should be all aware that it doesn’t depend on what we are saying or what we are doing at this moment, but it hinges on how and whether our friends in the European Union will agree on the so-called new methodology, which will represent the European Union’s overall approach. I have already stated previously and I would reiterate it; under such circumstances, even France, if it was aspiring and seeking to join the European Union, it would have been rejected by France itself before everyone agreed on how the process would take place. So, it is a conceptual discussion going on within the European Union, which we should respect and, on the other hand, what I gladly found during talks with the President of the Council and what he affirmed for himself at this press conference, is the approach he is seeking to adopt to adopt together with others, for a new dimension to the relations between the European Union and the Western Balkan countries in terms of economic and social development. So, what is happening as part of a new methodology should be seen as a fresh opportunity for positive developments, not simply in terms of the formal opening of the membership negotiations, but also in terms of the relations between us and the European Union. And if the President expressed it today as a vision and as an objective, it will materialize in investments encouraged and supported by the European Union through the European Bank and other instruments and in greater financial support for key sectors of the countries in the region and the European policies as a whole. This is a reason to be very positive and encouraged.

The last thing I would say in this regard is that regardless of what the next decision will be on opening or postponing the accession negotiations, we still will continue to do the same thing we would have done should the negotiations were already underway, because we are doing this for ourselves and for our future and we are not doing it because this is what the President of the Council, Paris or Hague asks us to do.

I am very pleased there is clarity about the fact that our reforms are moving forward and are delivering and will continue to yield expected results. I shared with the President the ambition to take, without further wasting time, a new step in the fight against organized crime and the so-called “catch what you can” and so we will continue to do so step by step.

What matters most is that by end of this year, Albania will be a much better country and, together with the European Union as the main supporter, we make sure that not only we give hope to all of those who have experienced the great November tragedy, but also new houses and new perspective to move into new brand homes, not later than the end of next year, for every affected family living in cities.

Thank you very much!

*Simultaneous interpretation