AIIS brings Hungarian, Slovenian EU integration experience to Albania

TIRANA, Sep. 24 – Hungarian and Slovenian experts explained Monday how these two former communist countries managed to conduct reforms and become integrated into the European bloc.
A conference was held Monday by the Albanian Institute for International Studies (AIIS) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) on the state of the European Union and the accession perspectives of Albania.
The conference, held for the second time by the AIIS and the FES on the EU integration, sought to provide important insights and information from the experience of countries that have undergone the same process Albania is undergoing nowadays.
It also hoped to inform the public, as well, as to provoke a debate which is of the utmost importance given the challenges Albania still faces before becoming fully ready for EU accession.
A number of distinguished representatives and experts on European studies, including Deputy Integration Minister Albert Gajo, former Foreign Minister Besnik Mustafaj and Michael Ehrke from the FES Budapest, took part in the conference.
Albania signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) in June 2006, a pre-membership agreement with the EU that commits Albania to economic and political reforms that are a prerequisite for its future entry into the 25-nation EU, providing for more political and economic consultations between the EU and Tirana.
No date has been set for a possible full membership that may take years to achieve. Gajo outlined Albania’s achievements and the challenges that lay ahead, with a focus on economics.
Prof. Attila Agh of Budapest’s Corvinus University, spoke on the state of the European Union and the position of new member states.
Janja Petkovisk of the Slovenian Chamber of Industry and Commerce gave a very detailed presentation of the criteria and condition businesses must meet in order to fulfill EU requirements. Prof. Andras Inotai, director of the Institute for World Economics in Budapest, and Prof. Andrej Kumar of the University of Ljubljana gave insightful presentations on the economic consequences of joining the EU in their respective countries, Hungary and Slovenia.
They were followed by Mustafaj speaking on the history and achievements of Albania’s integration process and by Maklen Misha, AIIS Director of Research, with an overview on some problems and difficulties encountered by Albania during the integration process.
Albert Rakipi, AIIS executive director, presented a brief commentary on the implementation of the Association and Stabilization Agreement in Albania.