TIRANA, June 9/ATA/ The European Union membership negotiations progress must move forward on the path towards the spirit of consensus and inter-party cooperation, as if they were a single body towards this great common aspiration, the acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Gent Cakaj, said during his speech at the Council for European Integration.
“In March of this year, the European Council decided to open membership negotiations with the Republic of Albania, responding positively to the course of reforms that have taken place in Albania over the years,” Cakaj said.
“Following the three reports and positive recommendations of the European Commission, member states unanimously praised Albania’s significant progress in Justice Reform, the fight against organized crime and corruption, public administration reform and the improvement of overall situation in terms of fundamental human rights and freedoms,” Cakaj stressed.
“We absolutely must be aware of the fact that the negotiations will run in parallel with the new methodology, under more rigorous and strict approach. Among other things, one of the distinguishing elements is the reversal mechanism in case of invalid progress,” the acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Gent Cakaj said.
“If there is no progress there will be regress. The status quo is impossible, so it is important to follow all the recommendations of the European Commission and to implement the conditions of the European Council,” Cakaj stressed.
“Albania’s political behavior in relation to the region should continue, as requested in the communication of the February 2018 commission, and European behavior in foreign policy should continue in terms of major issues that reflect our common values,” he said.
“And this implies internal consensus as in the face of the EU we must not behave as representatives of political parties, but as a single social body with an inalienable aspiration that reflects our historical heritage, our strategic interests, our national values, and definitely as an instrument of democratic reforms in Albania,” Cakaj concluded. //a.i/
