Prime Minister Edi Rama has stated that the lack of a date for the practical start of EU talks with Albania is due to the Dutch domestic politics, specifically the next general elections in that country in March 2021.
He said that Albania’s path was blocked by the Netherlands, North Macedonia’s by Bulgaria.
“The Netherlands does not want this job done because there are elections there. Bulgaria also has elections,” Rama told the host of a TV show on Ora News on Thursday.
Rama claimed that Albania has met all conditions and the decision on whether or not to hold the first intergovernmental conference between the EU and Albania, which would mark the start of talks, does not depend on his government but rather on the domestic policies of EU countries:
“The decision to hold the conference or not is not related to what we do but to the agenda of a country. The domestic narrative of a country plays a role in decision-making,” he said.
Chief among the conditions set by the EU leaders for Albania to meet before the EU talks could start are the establishment of two higher courts and the implementation of a consensual electoral reform.
