TIRANA, June 20 /ATA/ The Head of the European Union Delegation in Tirana on Friday praised Albania’s enduring commitment to supporting refugees.
At an event organized on the occasion of June 20, the World Refugee Day, Gonzato stated, “This will be an important prerequisite for Albania on its path towards the EU. Albania has played a highly honorable role in the history of mankind, having welcomed and protected various individuals, starting with the Jews during World War II, and the unprecedented role you played in the 1990s by hosting refugees from Kosovo. Moreover, when Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban in 2021, Albania provided temporary shelter to thousands of Afghan citizens.”
“Over recent years, Albania has been an important partner for the EU in managing the mixed migration flows along the Western Balkans corridor, balancing security demands with humanitarian obligations,” Gonzato emphasized.
Gonzato stated that “Albania is taking crucial and decisive steps toward EU membership. This partnership is becoming increasingly important to ensure and facilitate access to asylum procedures, the identification of individuals likely to require international protection and their specific needs for appropriate services, as well as the identification of unaccompanied or separated children, addressing their particular protection needs and integrating these migrant children into Albania’s child protection system.”
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