“It is still the objective of the German presidency of the EU Council to have a first intergovernmental conference with Albania within our presidency, that is, by the end of this year.”
This was stated by the spokesman for the German Embassy in Tirana, when asked by Exit News.
In the statement, the Embassy stressed that the holding of the conference depends on the progress that Albania will make on the required reforms:
“Whether this will be possible depends on the progress of Albanian reforms, according to the conclusions of the March 2020 Council, as well as the ongoing discussions in Brussels to create a consensus supported by EU member states.”
Earlier, the Ministers for Europe of Germany Michael Roth, Slovenia Gašper Dovžan and Portugal Ana Paula Zacarias talked about the continuation of enlargement policies for 2021 – Germany currently holds the presidency of the European Council until 31 December 2020, while in 2021 the presidency will ‘pass to Portugal and Slovenia.
In an official statement after the meeting, the ministers said that the three EU countries are working to open the first conferences for EU accession with Northern Macedonia and Albania.
“Any country holding the Presidency of the Council must engage in ongoing and often complex negotiations in order to make progress, especially on issues that require compromise,” reads the report on Albania and Northern Macedonia.
