Tirana Times
TIRANA, April 12 – Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini made a visit to Albania Monday to meet with top leaders and pledge his country’s full support to Albania’s integration processes into the European Union.
Italy also pledged to help Albania’s European integration process with an additional 51 million euros for the 2010-2012 period. Frattini signed the deal in Tirana with his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta to fund projects that will assist small and medium enterprises, agriculture, education and social development. Italy is Albania’s main trading partner and a major contributor to its European Union integration process during its post-communist period, with 335 million euros of aid since 1990.
Tirana, a NATO member since last year, is expected to hand over the answers to the European Union questionnaire on its candidate status request and expects to get the visa-free regime from Brussels likely this summer.
During his meetings with Prime Minister Sali Berisha and his Albanian counterpart, Ilir Meta, Frattini also made it clear that it was very likely the decision for visa-free regime for Albanians would be taken this June and Albanians would very likely be able to use it in late summer.
Frattini said that Tirana authorities had fulfilled all the requirements of the road map set by the European Union.
Frattini has been the initiator of such a move from the bloc since the times when he served as European Union Commissioner.
As a foreign minister for Italy Frattini made it clear that EU could be completed unless the western Balkan countries also merged with the group. But he made it also clear that each country should work hard to complete or fulfill the requirements to achieve EU democratic standards.
At the same time, Frattini could not escape questions on the Albania political crisis. Frattini diplomatically called on the Albanian opposition Socialist party to be present in Parliament and take an active part in the country’s integration efforts into the European Union. Frattini said that all political forces should understand that the country is a close step near the bloc and they should work together for Albania’s integration into the European Union. The Italian minister said that a continuous political fight may also have its negative effect on the country’s integration steps, taking into consideration some pessimistic outlooks by certain EU member countries.
He said that the moment calls for the big responsibility and opportunity from the country’s political forces.
Italy has been a staunch ally of Albania’s integration efforts into NATO and the European Union.
Diplomats from the two countries are also discussing a deal on representing Tirana for consular activities in all those countries in the world where Albania does not have a representative embassy.
