Albania believes that the Western Balkans have all reasons to look to their future with confidence. Yet, to overcome the past, they need to work together, be united, strengthen their bilateral and regional cooperation, through understanding and mutual respect, while they pursue their individual and common path towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration, to the benefit of their respective countries and the entire region.
Albania has joined the EU sanctions against Russia which in our view are and should only be seen as a means to let the Kremlin know that actions have consequences and that it is not possible to have business as usual in the face of an act of aggression.
My plan was to address you together with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission of EU Joseph Borrell.
Thank you!
Good Morning,
It is not a favor. It is not just about keeping the promise made for a merit-based process. It constitutes an investment in everything the EU and its Member States believe in: peace, security, development, human rights, democracy, and rule of law. It is also a powerful drive for sustainable development in the region as well as an important guarantee for a long due process of reconciliation in the Western Balkans.
Today, the Security Council will focus on the Cooperation between the United Nations and European Union under the agenda item Cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organizations.
We expect the overall geopolitical impact of the situation in Europe, including in the Western Balkans, to be present in our discussions.
As a candidate country to the European Union, Albania expects a realistic, objective, time-framed, and credible approach of the EU-Enlargement towards the Western Balkans.
From peace and security to strengthening of multilateralism, from promotion and full respect for human rights to joint efforts in mitigating the effects of climate change, as well as to ensure full respect for the international law and strengthen accountability for serious violations of international law.
On all these crucial issues, the EU and its member states have a particularly crucial role to play. This is why Albania organized this meeting in order to have a rich and meaningful discussion on ways to improve the cooperation between the two organizations, and how to respond effectively to the multiple challenges we face.
We continue to call on the Russian Federation to stop the war, withdraw its troops and engage in negotiations. This is the only way to deal with issues and grievances, and the only way to alleviate the acute global food security situation for which, it must be clear, Russia is only and solely responsible.
Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, HR Borrel will join and brief the Council only through VTC.
Although I believe the importance of the partnership between the UN and EU, as the biggest contributor to the UN, is self-evident, I would like to highlight in particular the need for closer political cooperation between these multilateral forums of global impact. I trust that in face of current on-going challenges, these two bodies would need to strengthen their cooperation in the service of common agenda.
The overall impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine will be reflected in the discussions. We commend the extraordinary efforts that some of the EU Member States and others, including my own, are doing in sheltering nearly 7 million Ukrainians forcefully displaced by the war.
To this end, Albania looks forward to an accelerated process of dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, with the facilitation of the EU, which should lead, as soon as possible, to the mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.
