Albania to apply for candidate status by end of month

TIRANA, April 20 – Following his trips to China and France, Prime Minister Sali Berisha will submit his country’s EU membership application during his April 28 visit to the Czech Republic, current EU president.
The Albanian opposition says this is an election manoeuvre by the ruling democrats.
Attached to the application will be a letter describing the reforms carried out as well as the changes that Albania promises to make.
“Albania as a NATO member has progressed in reforms and it has pledged to hold free and just elections, which are necessary conditions for EU admission,” Integration Minister Majlinda Bregu was quoted by AFP international news agency.
Albania and Croatia became NATO members on April 1.
“All our European partners have made it clear that the application should be submitted only after the elections,” opposition Socialist lawmaker Arta Dade said.
The European Commission has also warned that parliamentary elections will be a fundamental test for the application.
Many EU states take a reserved stand on the candidacy of further Balkan states since the Lisbon treaty to reform the EU has not yet taken effect.
Albania, together with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia has signed the association treaty with the EU. For Albania the Stabilization and Association Agreement, ratified by all EU member countries, came into force with the EU April 1.
Last week the EU Enlargement Commissioner Ollie Rehn’s spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy also confirmed that Tirana was expected to submit its application for EU candidate status by the end of the month.
She said the EU’s Czech presidency set the application date in consultation with the Albanian government. “The EC has regular contacts with potential candidates like Albania, and the issue of application has been discussed several times in the last month. However, it is up to the Czech presidency to set a specific date for the application,” Nagy said.
But the spokeswoman also reiterated that holding fair and transparent general elections in June is crucial for Albania’s application.
Lawmakers from the main opposition Socialist Party (SP) boycotted a session of parliament Thursday to protest alleged violations in the process of issuing new electronic ID cards.
Voters will need to show an ID card or a passport before casting a ballot on June 28th and the opposition Socialists said they won’t return to parliament until the government makes the process more comprehensive and starts issuing the ID cards for free for all persons not owning a passport.
The government dismissed the move as political grandstanding and pledged to complete the issuing process in the main cities by the end of the month.