TIRANA, May 31 – Polish Ambassador to Albania Karol Bachura said Poland supports Albania and all other Western Balkan states’ near-future EU aspirations and believes the country should become part of economic initiatives like that of the Three Seas.
In an article published for a local newspaper, Bachura wrote that providing a clear time-frame to Western Balkan countries would be positive, as it would create a clear perspective and mobilize governments to continue reforming from within.
“We really hope that accession negotiations with Albania and Macedonia will begin this year. In 2018, we have to give the integration process a push forward. If we miss out on this chance, the window of opportunity might close,” Bachura writes.
According to the Polish Ambassador, however, the efforts to integrate Western Balkan countries should be based on building real bridges among countries and implementing strategies that can benefit both sides.
Among them, Bachura mentioned doubling funds for the Erasmus + program, as teen mobility and professional trainings are a focus point for the European Commission. He added projects on transport and energy connectivity are also essential for WB countries.
“We need more highways and railways, pipelines and broadband connections, to bring the societies of the entire region closer,” he states in the op-ed.
Connectivity, Bachura wrote, is one of the Three Seas Initiative main goals, as a project that aims to improve economic, energy and transport connections among Eastern and Central Europe countries surrounded by the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Sea.
The ties achieved by the success of this project will strengthen the participating countries’ economies and the EU economy as a whole, according to Bachura.
“There are currently 12 countries in the region that have joined the initiative. If Albania joins the EU, it can become part of the Three Seas Initiative and profit by the projects that will be implemented in its context,” the article reads.
In addition, Bachura counted a number of activities that will focus on WB countries integration and preparation to join the union.
The Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry’s main project this year, he wrote, is the Expansion Academy for WB’s officials that will be held in Warsaw in September 2018, aiming to ensure a network space for civil employees in the region by sharing experiences.
Poland is also the organizer of a number of annual bilateral conferences, like the Shkup Conference, the Belgrade Conference, and very recently the Tirana Conference. This bilateral forum for civil employees offered an opportunity for Poland to share some of its pre-accession experiences, during which the country was also undergoing reforms, like Albania is doing currently.
“Poland is invited in the London Summit of the Berlin Process. In 2019 we will organize a summit in Poland. In our opinion, the Berlin Process plays a crucial role in bring economies and societies closer and encouraging reforms. Poland appreciates its focus on connectivity, as well as this versatile and multiparty approach. However, the Berlin Process cannot be interpreted as an alternative to the expansion politic, but as an addition to the Commission’s activity,” Bachura highlights.
According to Bachura, the expansion process is a two-sided process: one the one side, there are the conditions and reforms that aspiring countries need to fulfill and on the other side it’s the EU’s engagement to accept new members according to its own proposals.
“If these conditions are met, expansion will make Europe stronger. This is why I am impatiently waiting for the day Albania and other Western Balkan members will become part of our family,” Bachura’s op-ed concludes.
