TIRANA, Oct 18 /ATA/ – Prime Minister Edi Rama said that Albanian citizens, and the young people who were born during the country’s long transition period in particular, should not feel pessimistic about Albania’s path towards Europe.
Answering to a question about perspective of the generation that has grown up hearing only about European Albania, Rama said that the dream of all Albanians will come true at a reasonable time.
“By the time when I took the streets calling for an Albania like the rest of Europe I had all my hair on my head. If we are to let my beard to witness that time, I am afraid it will grow much longer before this wish comes true. However, this is a long journey and Albania is today much more European than it used to be. Many things have changed. Many things are changing. The legacy is not the same. Albania is not like Poland or Czech Republic. We have experienced two isolation periods, one lasting over 500 years and the other over 50. One thing is for sure, you will be voting about the European Parliament one day. When is this going to happen? We will do utmost to make sure that this takes place in a foreseeable,” Rama said.
The Premier commented also on the so-called the Balkan Mini Schengen, noting the move is absolutely not a response to the European Union and it is not an anti-Albanian clash.
“This is not about any response. You may continue to call the agreement by the name ‘Mini Schengen’, but I don’t like such a name. We may well call it the European Union of Southeast, but it is not a kind of response, neither an alternative to the European path. It’s part of it. Our region has tremendous potential that need to be released. Nobody has taken a decision against Albania. It doesn’t match our interest today, yet they are the big ones. It is not us the ones who do the EU’s transformation process,” he said.
Commenting on the French President’s statement over the Albanian asylum seekers, the Premier said: “I don’t like reiterate the reasons why Albanians travel and apply for asylum, because this aspect includes a dark side, that of the criminal networks, which mastermind illicit trafficking. We are cooperating with the French authorities, but of course the President had to tell this to French people.”
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