TIRANA, May 17 /ATA/ – “Albanians are EU enthusiasts. Europe is our religion,” Prime Minister Edi Rama told an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, speaking about Albania’s bid to join the European Union.
With the accession to the EU – PM Rama underlined – “we would build a bridge between our past and our future.”
Putting emphasis on the importance of the EU integration to Albania, the government head stated “for us and the other countries of the Western Balkans it is a question of life and death.”
“After so many years of pain and unrest, Europe defines our future. With the accession to the EU, we would build a bridge between our past and our future. As you may know, Albania had the most fearsome Communist regime in Europe and we recently experienced other than most Europeans, bloody wars in disintegrating Yugoslavia or in Kosovo,” Rama said.
Asked about the “cost” of accession of Albania or Serbia and doubts over such a step when drawing an analogy with the situation and the money transfers to Greece, Rama said: “This is not my problem; this is a problem for German or British politicians to solve.”
“Your societies have not experienced wars for three generations. Your societies are somehow detached from the harsh realities of the world outside the EU. From the economic point of view, your societies are in a good shape and that is maybe the reason why Europeans forget how fortunate they are. Social media may have had some influence destroying some of the core values in Europe.” Rama said.
Asked about the advantage for Germany and the European Union to have Albania in the EU, PM Rama said: “I don’t want to agitate those who do not want Albania to become a member of the EU. It is a long way for us into the EU.”
“To say it with the words of French President Macron: Europe first needs integration before it can start its enlargement. Yes, the EU needs some reforms. And we also still have to reform our own country. But hopefully our ways will meet one day. Albania and the Western Balkans are of crucial importance for Europe´s peace and security. We are a blind sport in Europe and this has to change,” he added.
Speaking about Albania’s progress, Rama said “things have changed but I say it quite frankly: it really depends on how you look at the situation.”
“If you think about it from where we have started, we have come a long way in Albania. But if you consider where we want to be, then it is still some way to go. Our transformation has to become more sustainable,” he said.
The judicial reform – Rama went on saying – including a constitutional reform, is transforming almost everything today.
“Our judges and public prosecutors are under better scrutiny, their financial background and their professional past are vetted. Many high-ranking officials have lost their jobs and this will clean our judicial system,” the government head stated.
But, this is not enough, according to the Premier.
“We want to have a fair and efficient judicial system which can fight against corruption and organized crime. We have the same approach in the education sector. We closed 18 private universities because they did not fulfil modern standards. Furthermore, we have introduced a dual education system and reformed our financial market. This how we build a new foundation for our society,” Rama said.
/m.m/u.sh/
