TIRANA, October 2/ATA/-The visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto stressed on Wednesday that the Finnish government supports Albania in opening the accession negotiations with the European Union.
During his stay in Tirana, the Finnish minister stressed that the internal problems of the EU countries should not influence its enlargement towards the Western Balkans.
According to him, Albania and North Macedonia are in Europe and the EU should continue the enlargement process in the Western Balkans. Haavisto also stressed that his country is very pleased with co-operation with Albania.
Haavisto made the statement today during a joint press conference with the Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Gent Cakaj.
“In early June, Finland took over the EU presidency. We are strong supporters of EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans,” said Haavisto.
“The Western Balkans is not in one corner of Europe, but it is in the center of Europe. We support the ongoing talks with Montenegro and Serbia and now we want Albania and North Macedonia to start the entry talks. We are not alone in making the decision, but the decision must have the unanimity of all EU member states. ”
“There are some countries in the EU that have their own internal problems. But, their internal problems should not hamper the enlargement process. We are very happy to cooperate with Albania in many areas. Albania is a candidate country for the United Nations Security Council; Albania will take over the presidency of the OSCE, a very important task that we in Finland are very attentive to. Albania is a member of NATO and we are very pleased to be in this alliance,” concluded Haavisto./a.g/p.s./
