TIRANA, May 11 – Ambassador Romana Vlahutin, who heads the EU Delegation to Albania, has told the first meeting of the National Council for European Integration that it is fundamental to have “a common understanding and agreement on what Albania needs to do in its reform agenda.”
Vlahutin hailed the creation of the council and also the nomination of an opposition member to head it, which she considered as an achievement.
“To extend a hand across the aisle is a sign of strength, and wisdom,” she said.
The national council is supposed to be a framework within which all the stakeholders, and people from different walks of life, sit together and discuss issues important for the European integration of Albania.
Vlahutin said “the agenda for the reforms and implementation of reforms remain the crucial interest of the country – to make it competitive, safe and prosperous.”
“This is your responsibility,” she said. “But we cannot change Albania. Only Albanian citizens and Albanian institutions can change Albania.”
Vlahutin noted that the real fight should be against “the arrogance and brutality of corruption and crime, and those who think that they are untouchable.” She added, “rule of law will prevail, and once it does Albania will move forward very fast.”
The ambassador also said the state needs institutions that will be fully functional at all times, regardless who is in the government and who is in the opposition.
“Integration reforms are instruments that have one aim and one aim only: to make the overall quality of your life better. That your air is clean and your food healthy, that your roads are safe and running water available at all times. That you live in peace and dignity that you can earn enough for your family that your children are safe and your elderly cared for,” Vlahutin told those present at the event.
Vlahutin also said that Albania cannot afford to waste any more time. She also urged the local politics on the “need to talk to each other in how to do it, to best serve your country and your citizens.”
