TIRANA, April 21/ATA/-Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama appealed to the politicians in Germany not to put any obstacles in the way of his country toward opening of EU accession negotiations.
“There is a clear concern that individuals and forces in the EU want to mix things that should not be mixed,” he told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” newspaper.
He considers Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) a supporter. But he knows that “there are MPs who need to be convinced based on facts and results.”
The European Commission recommended on Tuesday opening of accession negotiations with the Balkan countries, Albania and Macedonia.
EU foreign policy Chief Federica Mogherini said she was taking the step towards the recent reform of both countries.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn spoke of fundamentally promising developments.
“We are not knocking on the door of the EU to join tomorrow, we just want to sit down at the negotiating table,” Rama said.
At the same time he warned of disappointment in his country.
“The Commission’s recommendation is not a gift, it’s no alms, it’s based on our achievements,” said Rama.
If these were not appreciated, the people of Albania would find this unfair.
“If the EU perspective becomes clouded and short-sighted policy on long-term strategy wins, people will want to leave,” he warned./ec/p.s./
