Spiropali attended a joint press conference today alongside the Federal Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, who is currently on an official visit to Tirana.

Spiropali remarked that Austria has consistently stood as one of Albania’s most trusted and outspoken allies, expressing her conviction that ‘this visit equally signifies a mutual resolve to strengthen further our outstanding bilateral relations.

“Together with the Austrian counterpart today, we envisaged a future in which the Tirana–Vienna axis will become far more dynamic in every respect—politically, economically, in terms of security, and so on. In strengthening this axis, the Albanian community in Austria will undoubtedly play a crucial role, as will the ever-growing community of Austrian investors and entrepreneurs in Albania,” Minister Spiropali stated.
“Concerning our path towards integration, Spiropali noted that the meeting served to reaffirm the highly ambitious agenda, which aims to finalise the accession negotiations by 2027 and to secure full membership within the current decade.”

“In this regard, Austria’s principled and pragmatic support, its contribution to the implementation of key reforms, as well as its backing for the region’s sustainable economic development, have made—and will continue to make—a significant difference for our country,” she added.

Spiropali recalled that the opening of all negotiation chapters within 14 months is unprecedented in the history of the European Union.

She assured that Albania remains committed to swiftly transforming the recommendations into action plans.

Despite the progress achieved, Minister Spiropali stressed that ‘we are fully conscious that Albania still has a challenging road ahead.

‘The European Commission’s report clearly identifies the chapters requiring an accelerated pace. We remain fully committed to translating the report’s findings into a comprehensive action plan for our institutions,’ she added.

Turning to bilateral cooperation, Spiropali stated that the meeting reaffirmed the close collaboration within international organisations, where Albania and Austria share the same commitment to stability and the same values regarding equality, human dignity, human rights, and so forth.
According to her, Austrian investments play a key role in important sectors such as energy, banking, construction, tourism, and technology, contributing to the sustainable development of our economy.

In this regard, Spiropali assured that further strengthening Austrian investments and enterprises in the key sectors of our economy remains Albania’s top priority.

“We agreed to continue our strategic dialogue through various formats, to assess progress against shared objectives, and to open new chapters of cooperation. Without Austria yesterday, without Austria today, and without Austria tomorrow, the history of the Albanian people and of Albania would be incomplete,” Spiropali stated.
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