In her remarks at a business forum on improving business climate in Tirana, Dhuka noted that opening the EU accession talks represents a milestone event for Albania during this decade.

According to her, “this is the moment of deep economic transformation.”

“The EU is basically a union of countries in a common market and European integration is basically alignment of the Albanian market to a common market with European countries. More broadly, the EU is also an economic and monetary union,” she said.

The Chief Negotiator noted that the single market is the very essence of the European Union.

“Our goal is to bring the Albanian market closer to the common market. A gap exists between the Western Balkan countries, including Albania, and the EU member states. This gap is thought to be at least over 40% in the comparison between Western Balkan countries and Eastern Europe countries that have already joined the EU recently,’ she said.

According to her, “the accession negotiations and integration will help this gap narrow through increased productivity.”

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