TIRANA, Jan 16 /ATA/ – By Maela Marini/ – Parliament Speaker Niko Peleshi on Friday praised what he described as a record pace in the opening of European Union accession negotiations, saying the goal remains to conclude them by 2027.
Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Socialist Party’s parliamentary group, Peleshi outlined parliamentary challenges on Albania’s path towards what he called “Albania 2030”.
Focusing on EU integration, Peleshi said Albania recorded its fastest-ever progress toward the bloc over the past year, both in opening negotiation chapters and in meeting technical and institutional requirements.
“On November 17, Albania opened the last cluster of accession negotiations. The goal now is to conclude them by 2027,” Peleshi said, adding he was optimistic about meeting the target, adding that the 2027 deadline was not a unilateral commitment or an electoral promise, but a date agreed with EU institutions.
He said parliament should set an example by raising ethical standards and parliamentary culture to the level of the countries Albania aims to join.
Peleshi added that European integration had been the main focus of the previous parliamentary session, noting that lawmakers had approved amendments to legislation governing parliament’s role in the accession process. The changes introduced accelerated procedures for reviewing laws aimed at aligning Albanian legislation with EU rules.
/j.p/u.sh/
