TIRANA, Oct 31 /ATA/ The European Union Ambassador in Tirana, Silvio Gonzato, submitted to PM Edi Rama the 2024 EU Progress Report for Albania, which was approved by the European Commission just a day earlier.
At the joint press conference alongside Prime Minister Edi Rama, Gonzato stated that the European Commission recognizes Albania’s unwavering commitment to EU integration as the country’s key strategic priority.
Regarding the political criterion, the ambassador noted that the report rates the functioning of democratic institutions as partially satisfactory, mainly due to the deeply polarized political situation.
“This year’s report is released at a favorable time for Albania’s EU integration process. Two weeks ago, we opened negotiations for the ‘fundamentals’ cluster in the second intergovernmental conference. Subsequently, Albania presented three roadmaps to guide its reform efforts. I cannot stress enough how important this is as a key moment towards membership,” the ambassador stated.
He reiterated that last week the European Commission also approved the country’s reform agenda, which he believes will pave the way for the implementation of the Growth Plan. This plan, Gonzato emphasized, will act as a catalyst to accelerate the country’s journey toward EU membership.
He then highlighted the key findings of the report.
“In the enlargement package approved yesterday by the European Commission, Albania’s unwavering commitment to EU integration is recognized as the country’s key strategic priority. It fully acknowledges that Albania maintains its complete alignment with the EU’s foreign security policy, sending a strong signal about its strategic choice for EU membership and its role as a reliable partner. The Commission anticipates an opportunity to accelerate the membership process in the coming years. As President Von der Leyen emphasized last week, if the reform pace accelerates, Albania could open all clusters by the end of 2025,” the ambassador said.
The ambassador stated that the Commission anticipates the possibility of opening Chapter 6 on External Relations within this year.
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