TIRANA, Oct 17 /ATA/ The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ferit Hoxha, said today that he welcomed the European Council’s conclusions on enlargement and the future of the European Union.
Hoxha stressed that Albania must press ahead with reforms and accession negotiations with determination, describing EU membership as a historic opportunity for the country.
The minister welcomed the reaffirmation of enlargement as a geostrategic investment in Europe’s peace, security, stability and prosperity. He also highlighted the importance of the merit-based principle in the accession process, under which each candidate country advances according to its own achievements and progress.
“We welcome the clear reaffirmation that enlargement is a geostrategic investment in Europe’s peace, security, stability and prosperity. This is an important message at a time when the European Union must further strengthen its unity, capacity to act and European sovereignty. We also welcome the reaffirmation of the merit-based principle, under which each candidate country advances in the accession process on the basis of its own progress,” Hoxha said.
According to Hoxha, Albania has been and remains fully committed to pressing ahead with reforms, particularly in the rule of law, and fulfilling all commitments and obligations arising from the accession negotiations.
He added that the country’s progress “will be measured and assessed on the basis of our work, performance and results”.
Hoxha stressed that enlargement is now at the heart of Europe’s strategic agenda and that the prospect of new members joining the EU is becoming increasingly tangible.
In this context, he stressed that “for Albania, as one of the frontrunners in this process, the response must be clear: to continue reforms and negotiations without delay, with determination and responsibility, in order to achieve full readiness for membership”.
“This is a historic opportunity for Albania and the Albanian people. We have never been closer to realising our greatest and most enduring national aspiration, the long-standing demand of young people and Albanian society as a whole: Albania in Europe,” he said.
However, he underlined that membership “is not a gift. It must be earned through work, reforms, results, responsibility and accountability”.
“The road to this point has required considerable energy, effort and sacrifice. Albania has shown that it has the energy, the ability and the commitment,” Hoxha said.
He added that “precisely because we have waited so long, and because we know that such opportunities in history do not remain open forever, we cannot afford to let this moment pass us by”.
“The EU’s outstretched hand must be grasped firmly, as we move forward side by side towards accession. Having learned the lessons of the past, we cannot and must not allow this transformative chapter in our modern history, the most important for our present and future, to become the story of yet another missed opportunity,” Hoxha said.
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