TIRANA, May 12 /ATA – By Maela Marini/ – Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Tuesday that Albania has never pursued an alternative path to European Union integration, describing EU membership as the country’s only strategic choice.
Rama made the remarks during a ceremony marking the signing of a new financing agreement between the European Investment Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.
“Albania has never had a Plan B. Albania has never looked in another direction,” Rama said.
“There is no alternative to individual freedom and the rule of law, meaning equality before the law,” he added.
Rama said Albania’s historical experience had shown the dangers of alternative political models lacking democratic freedoms and legal equality.
“We have learned through our own history that every possible Plan B or C is a plan without individual freedom and without equality before the law,” he said. “We lived through that for a long time and we do not even want to imagine returning to those times.”
The government head also stressed that Albania’s accession process involved more than simply adopting legislation, saying the EU offered expertise and institutional knowledge unavailable elsewhere.
“The European Union offers knowledge that nobody else in the world possesses, and this is our blessing, this is our opportunity,” Rama said.
He said Albania had made significant progress despite ongoing challenges, while acknowledging that further reforms were needed before the country could join the bloc.
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