The Western Balkans countries’ EU integration will not be easy, according to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who spoke to journalists before an informal meeting last night between EU and WB leaders in Brussels to discuss the new methodology drafted by the European Commission, among other things.
“Everyone landed with some difficulty today here in Brussels, so it’s a kind of a signal that the landing for us is not going to be easy,” Rama jokingly said.
He thanked the new EU institutions for efforts to push forward the integration process for the WB but also expressed his hope that the new methodology proves enough to settle concerns of some EU member states about WB’s progress in EU accession talks:
“We are very interested to see and discuss the new methodology which I hope will come out as a platform of common understanding within member states.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that France might vote for opening EU talks with Albania and Macedonia if the EC report in March is positive and “confidence is established”.
A few weeks before the EC report, the Albanian government has started controversial campaigns against crime and corruption (read here, here, and here), two of the main concerns of EU countries blocking the opening of talks. It has also agreed with the opposition to complete the electoral reform before the end of March.
The European Commission is hosting a donors’ conference for the Albanian earthquake today in Brussels. The Rama government has estimated that material damages from the earthquake amount to about €1 billion.
