Basha goes to Portugal to discuss EU, Kosova

TIRANA, June 13 – Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha traveled to Portugal, which assumes the European Union presidency during the final half of the year. Basha met with his Portuguese counterpart, Luis Filipe Marques Amado, and also the head of the parliamentary foreign committee, Jose Luis Arnaut, to discuss bilateral relations, Albania’s integration into NATO and EU, and developments in the region, especially, Kosova. Portugal pledged to ratify Albania’s Stabilization and Association Agreement with EU.On Kosova, Basha told his Portuguese counterpart that any delay in its possible independence would have a negative impact on the stability in the region, adding that the surrounding countries have agreed to support the proposal made by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari.