Kadare warns Albania to look ahead into Europe

TIRANA, Oct. 03 – Albania’s Nobel prize candidate writer Ismail Kadare has made it clear that the country’s integration into the European Union is its sole future and goal.
In a colloquial exchange of opinions with the EU Ambassador to Tirana Ettore Sequi Kadare said that “Europe’s future for Albania is just itself, Albania’s natural situation.”
But the writer also said that being convinced that we, Albanians love Europe more than the others (as the polls have continually shown) does not mean it deserves to be there.
That was a clear warning to Albanians, and especially the politicians leading them, that the country should work to deserve such a membership.
Albania is expecting to get a positive response to its request for the candidate status into the EU next week, when Brussels brings out the annual progress report for Albania. Tirana has had two previous negative Reponses with the European authorities setting 12 key priorities to work for.
Kadare said that now, for the first time in 600 years, Albania is getting ready to ‘enter’ Europe and this time not alone, but assisted from the European countries.
Becoming a member of the EU, or being European, as he said, means to respect yourself first, it is linked with the level of the spirit, institutions and the laws.
“It is the first time in Albania’s history of one century after the independence that another goal joins like a magic the politics and the society, the public opinion and the religious faiths, the elite and the common people,” said Kadare. “The European goal.”
The European membership is everything for Albanians, he said, because it also teaches something to them: harmony among themselves.
Meanwhile there are good signs from Europe that Albania may take the candidate status next week. (well, it also needs the approval of the EU’s Council of Ministers who are to convene in December.)
A local media outlet, Top Channel TV station reported Wednesday they had already received a copy of Albania’s annual progress report and that it spoke positively of the country. Sure it also mentions the usual challenges for Albania; corruption, judiciary, public administration, properties and the independence of institutions.
The report allegedly highly praises the dialogue and the deals reached between the two main political groupings governing Democratic party and the main opposition Socialist party that have had some good results with some laws and reforms required at this moment.
The draft document does not have any final conclusion whether Albania will or will not get the candidate status. But its positive coverage is a clear sign for a positive result too.