TIRANA, June 16/ATA/-Albania has done everything the EU has asked us to do, said Prime Minister Edi Rama to the Austrian portal Profil.at. The prime minister was speaking about the decision that the European Council is due to take by the end of June on Albania opening the EU entry talks.
Further on the prime minister said that, Albania still needs a lot of time to become a member of the EU, “but I’m currently not interested in membership. The launch of accession negotiations would further help us to implement reforms.”
PM Rama also emphasized, “It is difficult for me to understand why the decision of the EU Commission to negotiate with us should not be binding on member states.”
He also expressed his readiness to bring back compatriots who are illegally residing in France or other EU countries. “But the confidence of the Albanians in the EU and the good mood here would be damaged”, said PM Rama.
Speaking about the migrants from other countries, the prime minister said that Albania has registered about 2200 refugees from Syria and Pakistan since the beginning of the year. “That’s an increase, but still a small number. We do not want to build border fences. However, if the number of refugees increases, we are already expecting help from the EU. That’s what I said to Federal Chancellor Kurz in Vienna”, said PM Rama.
The prime minister also emphasized that Albania has effectively combated cultivation. “But who gets upset about drug problems in the Netherlands or in France? We are always accused of Albanians”, concluded the prime minister./p.s./
