TIRANA, April 27 /ATA/- The chairman of SP parliamentary group, Taulant Balla, described the visit of PM Edi Rama in Berlin and the meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel as one of the most important and successful visits, saying Germany remains one of the main supporters of Albania’s EU accession.
In an interview with ERTV, Balla said: “Albania does not have other conditions to meet, however it has met the preconditions pursuant to EC recommendations.
Focusing on achievements and challenges of Albania, Balla provided certain evidence and figures confirmed by EUROSTAT which recognise the impressive results of Albania in the fight against crime and cannabis as well as in asylum-seeking in Germany.
The most unbiased certification of all worrisome figures that you raise are those from European institutions such as Eurostat and German ones which are trustworthy. Here there is a chart showing the level of asylum-seekers in Q1 2016. In Q1, 2016 there were 4050 asylum seekers, in Q1 2017 there were 1775 and in Q1 2018 only 728. Compared to 2016 peak, this year it is 6 times less. Albanians ranks first for the rate of voluntary repatriation to the country of origin, Balla said.
Regarding the number of homicides, Balla said from 2010, the baseline year, there was an increase in 2011 when Lulzim Basha was at the helm of Ministry of Interior.
“2012 saw an all-time high of 126 homicides, while 2017 saw an all-time low of 52 homicides.”
As to cannabis, Balla said that 2017 was an unassailable success in the eyes of EU partners, including Germany.
2017 results lay the groundwork for further achievements during 2018 and I am fully convinced that 2018 will be the last year for this issue to be under discussion, according to Balla.
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