Meta secures Slovenian support to visa-free regime

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, Feb. 15 – Albania has made good progress over recent months and now meets the criteria for non-EU member states to join the European Union’s visa-free regime, Foreign Minister Ilir Meta said Friday during a visit to Slovenia.
“Albania today meets all the criteria set by the European Commission for the visa liberalization and we hope for a positive evaluation soon,” Ilir Meta told a news conference.
In December, Brussels abolished visas for citizens from Balkan states Serbia, FYROM and Montenegro after their governments met all the necessary requirements.
Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo were not considered ready just yet.
European foreign ministers in November agreed that Albania had made important progress and should be considered for official EU candidate status, a key step forward for the small southern nation’s membership ambitions
Meta, who is also Albania’s deputy prime minister, met with his Slovenian counterpart Samuel Zbogar.
The talks were focused on the further cultivation of bilateral relations, cooperation in the NATO framework, Albania’s process of EU integration, visa liberalization and the role of the two countries in the region.
Ϣogar considered the relations between Slovenia and Albania as brilliant and that there was no open issue between the two countries. Recently Slovenia opened its embassy in Tirana, which he said would also render a concrete contribution in boosting economic cooperation between the two countries at a much higher level.
Ϣogar stated Slovenia’s will to increase in concrete terms the level of trade exchanges and to foster the interest of Slovenian investors in Albania, particularly in the fields of energy, infrastructure, transport and telecommunications.
Meta extended the gratitude of the Albanian Government for Slovenia’s ongoing support for Albania and visa liberalization as well as the process of Euro – Atlantic integration. Meta emphasized that time has come for both countries to be engaged in concrete terms in extending their cooperation in all areas of mutual benefit and that the opening of the Slovenian Embassy in Tirana is a significant step in this regard.
Ϣogar underscored that Slovenia supported vigorously the visa liberalization process with Albania and Bosnia – Herzegovina and expressed his confidence that Albanians would be able to travel visa free in the Schengen area within the year 2010.
Ϣogar also commended the very constructive role that Albania plays in the region, emphasizing that the close cooperation between Slovenia and Albania will serve the strengthening of stability in the region.
During his stay in Ljubljana, Meta also met with President Danilo Tϋrk and Speaker Pavel Gantar.
He also met with representatives of the Albanian community working and living in Slovenia.