The very good progress is based on “Albania’s full alignment with the common foreign and security policy of the EU, giving a strong signal of its strategic choice of EU membership”.
I feel good about the high evaluation that Albania’s work in the UN Security Council received in the Report, underlining the commitment in fulfilling our priorities to represent ourselves, our region, our continent and all those who believe in the principles and values of the multilateral international order in the exercise of foreign policy.
I want to emphasize that the progress report is a working document that, after identifying the achievements, defines the areas where joint work and dialogue with the European Commission will be focused in the coming weeks and months.
Not only that, but the report assesses that “The government did not lose focus on the EU agenda, despite a triple challenge with the earthquake, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine; the public administration remained committed despite the challenges” and the country has made significant progress in adopting the EU acquis in recent years, despite the long wait.
“As a non-permanent member since January 2022, Albania has been actively engaged in the UN Security Council, including co-drafting a resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine”, and not only that.
As emphasized in the 2022 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy, the prospect of membership in the European Union is a strong anchor not only for prosperity, but also for peace and security.
“In the field of foreign policy, security and defense, Albania has a good level of preparation; in the field of foreign relations, Albania has made some progress; Meanwhile, in foreign, security and defense policy, Albania has made good progress,” the report states.
I cannot fail to mention also the appreciation that our country has received for the commitment that Albania has shown during the reporting period in creating good neighborly relations and proactive regional cooperation, which has not been easy with the challenges caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine, towards its closest neighbor with the Western Balkans.
In this regard, I would like to highlight today with pride some of the findings of the European Commission report on Albania 2022 in the fields of foreign policy, security and defense, which have finally received the importance they deserve in the evaluation of countries candidates.
Our proactive stance and firm commitment to regional cooperation and embracing European standards before EU membership will continue. Everyone will be able to rely on Albania as an active member of the Berlin Process, as well as the Open Balkans Initiative, playing a balancing role in regional issues.
As such, this document was not intended to be, nor can it be, a commendation. Its true value is to be the foundation of our ongoing work with the European Commission, so that next year’s report will identify areas of further progress that will bring us closer to the day when Albania becomes a member of the European Union.
The Commission pays more attention in the 2022 enlargement package to the geopolitical challenges created by Russian aggression in Ukraine. As the Report also points out, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has strongly resonated throughout the region and has further underlined the importance of harmonizing the common foreign and security policy in the enlargement process.
More specifically, the report speaks, and I quote, of “a recognition of the sustained commitment, reform achievements, and sustainability of Albania to move forward on its path towards the EU. Albania has continued to fulfill all the conditions set out in the March 2020 Council Conclusions for the first Intergovernmental Conference”.
For Albanian society, as a society that believes in the objective of European integration with an unimaginable unanimity for many other countries, this is a moment to see how much progress the country has made in this modernizing and Europeanizing journey.
Today, after receiving the report, we can all feel good because this report, the first after the opening of membership negotiations on July 19, 2022, recognizes the great work that has been done so far and confirms Albania’s progress.
In our opinion, what is really positive, is that we see from the Commission a clear expression of the geopolitical and strategic dimension of enlargement, which is undoubtedly in line with Albania’s long-standing position that enlargement policy is the best geopolitical instrument of the European Union to keep its neighborhood safe and motivated and to keep the European security sphere intact and stable.
These are evaluations, in the light of which Albania appears very clearly as an active and reliable partner of the European Union, with a foreign policy that is based on European values and fully aligned with the EU’s restrictive statements and decisions within the framework of the common external and security policy.
The publication of the European Commission’s Report on Albania marks for years an important moment not only for the government and the political elite but also for the entire Albanian society. For the government and the political elite, of course, this is a moment when we get an objective technical evaluation of the work we have done regarding the integration reforms, but at the same time a guide for the work we still need to do.
