Elections remain top priority to Albania, says EU, world

TIRANA, April 29 – After Albania formally applied to join the European Union, there are insistent calls from all over the world, international institutions and personalities that the June 28 parliamentary elections in the country are fundamental for its future and also its future integration efforts.
“It is now up to Albania to demonstrate its capacity to move to the next stage of European integration,” said head of the European Commission’s enlargement directorate Michael Leigh. “Holding parliamentary elections in June in a free and fair manner remains a key condition.
“This act has historic significance, marking the return of my nation to the family of European nations,” said Berisha after handing over the request in Prague.
Europe answered saying that the Balkan state was still “facing a huge amount of work”.
Albania is not expected to join the EU until 2015 at the earliest.
The EU and Albania concluded a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA), seen as the first step towards membership, in June 2006. The negotiations took three-and-a-half years – three times longer than they took in Croatia’s and Macedonia’s case.
During the April 28 annual plenary session of the International Consortium – a group that includes Embassies, international missions and NGOs that offer concerted development assistance in the area of law enforcement and rule of law in Albania – US vice Ambassador Steve Cristina highlighted that by achieving the benchmark of NATO membership, Albania “has increased both its accountability and responsibility to democratic principles and ideals” and that foremost among these is “a fully functioning rule of law arena with the independent institutions of the police, prosecutors, judges, and the courts.”
Cristina congratulated Albania’s progress so far, while pointing out that “Another significant and historic event is just ahead of us – the upcoming elections set for June 28.”
German ambassador in Tirana Bernd Borchardt hailed Tirana’s move but also insisted that “now it’s not the proper time to make the application.” The ambassador said that elections were decisive for Europe whether it was to consider the normal procedure in the application.
He also urged more steps so that a great number of Albanians without passports could attain the new identity cards on time for the elections.
Albania embarked on a lengthy path toward membership in the bloc which is still digesting past enlargement and engulfed in an economic crisis.
Albania is one of Europe’s poorest countries and it faces an uphill struggle to join the EU, which remains to be convinced of the west Balkan country’s democratic credentials.
The European Commission considers that Albania needs to make more progress in strengthening its state administration and courts as well as in fighting organized crime and corruption.
Brussels has said that polls in post-Communist Albania will be fundamental as they have never been certified free and fair by international observers.
Albania and Croatia joined the US-led NATO security alliance earlier this month.
The EU enlargement process may also be slowed by some current members’ hesitance to take in more members after past waves of enlargement.