TIRANA, Oct 25 /ATA/ -By Maela Marini/ Albania is breaking records in its pace toward European Union integration, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced today from Berlin.
Rama is in the German capital to attend the Global Dialogue (BGD), an annual high-level international forum that brings together leaders from around the world.
Speaking at the dialogue table with well-known moderator Ali Asllan, Prime Minister Edi Rama highlighted Albania’s progress in its European integration journey.
Rama noted that “it has been a successful year, particularly when seen in the wider European context and in terms of general trends.”
“The legislative review process has been completed over the last 11 months. Five out of six clusters have already been opened, and we expect to open the final cluster by the end of the year, setting a record for the speed of the process,” Rama stated.
According to Rama, “Europe is now fully alert, which was not the case in the past.”
“Regrettably, this shift came as a result of the brutal aggression of Russia (editor’s note) against Ukraine. But we can now see a major difference. In the past, the EU would acknowledge the geopolitical importance of the Western Balkans, but only in words. Today, actions demonstrate a real commitment to bringing us closer—not only at the level of the Commission, as previously stated, but also at the level of the Council and member states,” Rama said.
Rama noted that the Western Balkans is essentially at the “centre” of the European Union.
“Looking at it historically, the EU is the only geographic and geopolitical entity with two borders. Normally, any entity has a single outer boundary. The EU has two, and within the inner border lies our region. In this sense, we are at the very ‘center’ of the EU,” Rama explained.
He emphasized that any hesitation about joining the EU is completely misguided.
“I firmly believe that, for all the right reasons, the EU needs the Western Balkans as part of its reality just as much as we need the EU,” the Prime Minister stated.
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