TIRANA, Feb 24 /ATA/ EP Standing Rapporteur for Albania, Isabel Santos, stated on Thursday that the 5 conditions for the First Intergovernmental Conference have been met and the time has come to request the opening of this conference.
In her remarks at the 14th meeting of the Stabilization and Association Parliamentary Committee European Union – Albania held in Tirana, Santos said that, “as part of this roundtable there is a broad consensus in accession process. This is very important. Yes we can disagree on how we do one thing, how we deal with one issue or another. We may have different opinions, but at the end of two -day discussions the conclusion is that everyone around this roundtable, everyone agrees and supports the accession process.
“Of course, we all need to focus. This will be a long process, it is not a short process, it is a marathon, as I said. “I remember very well that in our case it was a very long marathon,” stressed Santos.
“Another important topic for me as a repporteur is to see the difference. I saw these two days and the last time I was here. It is very different. All parties are in parliament, no matter if they agree or not, but are working to find solutions. “Finding points of understanding and reaching a final solution, compared to the moment when only a part of the political spectrum was in parliament,” added Santos.
“This is very important. This is also important to me as I see that for issues of high importance like, extending the term of vetting bodies, electoral reform, whether you agree or disagree, you thrash out a solution and a way to move forward. “This is what democracy is all about,” she continued.
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