EU enlargement commissioner has sent a letter to all 28 member states saying that Albania has fulfilled all the requirements to become a candidate to join the EU.
TIRANA, Dec. 2 – Stefan Fule, the European Union’s enlargement commissioner, has formally asked the member states to grant Albania official candidate status for EU membership.
He has sent a letter to all 28 member states saying that Albania has fulfilled all the requirements to become a candidate to join the EU.
Fule also writes that reforms in Albania gained a new momentum since Prime Minister Edi Rama has taken the post in September, and that the government is leading a proactive policy in the reform of the police and judicial system.
The decision on the candidate status of Albania heads of the member states of the EU will come at a summit of the government’s
heads in BrusselsDec. 19 and 20.
The same call has also come from the European Parliament through Eduard Kukan, the MEP in charge of covering Albania’s membership bid. The parliament passed a resolution in favor of Albania’s candidacy.
Kukan also said that Albania should still continue to provide proof of the reforms and tangible results in the fight against organized crime and corruption, reform of the justice system and better administration capacities. Kukan said, however, that EU member countries should consider such a status for Albania as a political decision that would promote democracy in the tiny western Balkan country. He said that Albania still needs some 8-10 years to reach full membership.
But the candidate status opens the way for the country to launch the membership talks. There are voices that may come in spring next year.
European officials and politicians insist, too, that Albania should also really show progress in the political cooperation.
“Without the political dialogue it will be hard to prove that the political climate in Albania has changed and it is developing in line with the European standards,” said Kukan.
Another European parliamentarian, Nikola Vuljanic, insisted that there was still much work to do for the country, especially in the reform of the public administration, the fight against organized crime and corruption, independence of the justice system and the media pluralism.
He said that based on the recent developments in Albania, where a private television channel showed clear corruption case of a judge, prosecutor and administration officials, he considered there had come the time in Albania when they should consider even opening cases against “ministers, prosecutor general or prime minister.” His words sparked a row in Albania, where all sides tried to spin the words in their favor.
