Rehn describes June elections as key to Albania’s EU bid

BRUSSELS, March 5 – EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Tuesday that Albania’s June 28 parliamentary elections will be decisive for Albania’s EU integration process.
That comes at a time when official Tirana insists that it is to make the formal application for the start of the candidate status with the block within the Czech presidency until the end of June.
“A fair and transparent election process is a crucial condition while evaluating a country which applies for EU candidate status,” Rehn told journalists, responding to recent statements by Albanian government officials, who said the country would apply for EU candidate status by June.
Albania has made steady progress on reform as well in recent years. Albania signed its Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU already in 2006. That has now been ratified by all EU member countries.
But many challenges remain, of course, not least in fighting organized crime and corruption.
Albania’s EU bid will depend on two main conditions — fulfilling the duties stemming from the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU and complying with international election standards in June.
Rehn made it quite clear that Albania’s EU bid may suffer a delay if the country fails to meet democratic standards in the June parliamentary elections.