TIRANA, June 18 /ATA/ “Justice reform in Albania has been of unprecedented magnitude,” EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes Hahn, stated at a media briefing after the meeting of European Council which has not taken yet a decision on the opening of accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia.
Concerning the reforms in Albania, Hahn said that regardless of political situation, Albania has received a positive evaluation of its progress in reforms by the European Commission.
He cited justice reform which, according to him, has gained an unprecedented momentum.
“EU and EC in particular have a special role in preparation of accession talks and we have the biggest leverage across the Balkan region. Of course, you can worry over the political crisis in Albania, in particular the coming local elections. But we need to draw a distinction between what have been decided earlier between Albania and EU, the EU’s unanimous decision highlighting the five key priorities Albania has delivered on, the justice reform in particular where Albania has gained an unprecedented momentum.
As to the opening of accession talks, Hahn said that some countries need more time to review the EC report. “Some countries have demanded more time to review the report of EC which gives a positive recommendation for Albania and North Macedonia. The Netherlands, Denmark, France and Germany have suggested that enlargement issue should be seen in the light of developments in each country and have appealed for more efforts in this direction,” Hahn said.
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