Tirana focused on EU integration

TIRANA, Jan. 17 – Albanian Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto on Monday met with Hungarian Ambassador in Tirana Sandor Molnari, whose country holds the EU Presidency for the first half this year.
Molnari handed over to Haxhinasto the Program of Hungary’s EU Presidency and made a brief presentation of the four priorities for the period January – June 2011.
The Ambassador highlighted the fact that the Western Balkan region will be at the focus of the EU Presidency, in the context of the enlargement policy and confirmed the support for the advancement of all the countries in their European integration agenda.
Haxhinasto told the Hungarian Ambassador that Tirana was fully committed to the advancement of the European agenda, in view of receiving the candidate status and the opening of the accession negotiations.
Haxhinasto also said that soon the government would adopt the Working Plan for the realization of the 12 priorities set by the EU Commission and it will do whatever possible within its capacities to work for their implementation.
The European Union turned down Albania’s request for candidate status, which Albania made in April during the Czech presidency, mainly because of its prolonged political crisis over the 2009 elections and the unsatisfactory fight against corruption.
Those were two among 12 issues the European Commission told Albania to improve. Molnari said half of those points were related to “the political normality requiring political forces to cooperate together in the context of parliament.