Prime Minister Edi Rama, during his visit to Ireland, was invited by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) to speak to an audience of experts from Europe and the Balkans, as well as diplomats, on the topic “Albania’s European Journey: From aspirations to integration”.
In his speech, Rama emphasized that Albania is on the right path towards EU integration. Rama said that for Albania this is a culminating moment and that the opportunity to become part of the EU is closer than ever.
“We are at a very defining moment in our history, as we see not only the horizon that has always been so, but we also see an open door as a real real opportunity to become part of this European family. It is a culminating moment that has not existed for a long time. It has become a culminating moment where things that seemed impossible seem to be possible. I hope that we will seize this moment and be able to finally overcome the border that separated us from Europe, to finally become part of this family.
This is the situation, as I see it. A situation with a climactic moment, where we have to do our best to meet the other party’s expectations. 27 countries are needed and there are countries like France, where the ratification of the membership treaty for new members must receive 2/3 of the votes in the parliament or pass through a referendum. What matters is to successfully close the chapters and negotiations. Today we are on a good path, everything is going according to the rules and we also agree with the Commission on this,” said Rama.
Meanwhile, the head of the government added that Albania is confident of closing all group chapters within the next year.
“The end of 2027 is possible. Gradual integration is something that I myself have been fighting for for a long time, before such a thing took shape, not alone, but also with other colleagues. To give some meaning to the whole process, why countries should go through the process based on merit, but meanwhile the gap, as far as finance, economy and integration is concerned, is getting bigger and bigger”, said Rama.
