The Albanian government says it is determined to prevent any further delays in its application to become a candidate for EU membership and urges EU member states to look at the big picture.
TIRANA, May 15 – Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, has been pretty open in interviews with international media with his displeasure with EU members states over Albania’s bid to join the union.
Calling a decision by five members states last December to delay granting Albania official candidate for membership “not very European,” he said it was “ridiculous” that Albania is still stuck in its EU bid.
“Albania has earned candidate status. And Albania must have it. We had earned it back in December. And it was not good that it was delayed. It was not good for Albania, and it was not good for the region, and it was not good for Europe. It is easy to be hesitant because of public opinion. ŠBut that’s really not very European,” he said in a recent interview with Der Standard, a major Austrian newspaper.
Rama’s comments appear to be part of a concerted effort in the last month by the Albanian government to pressure EU members states to prevent any further delays in its EU application and to present not only the benefits Albania would get from integration in the European Union, but also to also to focus on the benefits EU member states would get from having Albania join the bloc.
Albania faces another vote on its application to get the candidate status next month.
Rama has repeatedly said he was encouraged after recently meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany was part of a group of EU members, together with France, UK, Netherlands and Denmark, that held Albania back from becoming an official EU candidate last December, saying they wanted more time to evaluate the new government.
Officials in Berlin and London have made positive public statements that appear to show they have shifted positions in Albania’s favour, and there are indications the Netherlands and Denmark would join them, but France is still holding out, diplomatic sources said.
For Rama, the process can’t happen soon enough. He said having promised all of the countries in the Balkans membership in the European Union is one thing, but having focus on integration and the speed the process takes place is another.
He said the status stage was essentially an extra strep countries like Albania had to go through, and was not related to accession, or negotiations, but was only meant as instrument of encouragement and hope for the citizens. Now, he added, that stage is serving as a roadblock in an EU growing worried about its future.
Albert Rakipi, who heads the Albanian Institute for International Studies, said EU integration has long been a driving force for many improvements in Albania.
“We are doing the reforms not just to move forward in the integration process. We are doing them for ourselves, to modernize the country, to have better life standards, better education, better health care,” he said.
Albert Rakipi, who heads the Albanian Institute for International Studies, said that despite how common EU citizens might feel about Albania joining the bloc, based on the country’s bad image problem, the decision on the status at this time is taken by the political elites of the EU and its member states.
“These elites know very well that there are benefits to the EU, as well as Albania, with integration,” Rakipi told Tirana Times. “But there does need to be more clarity given to the EU public and its political representatives that Albania joining the EU will not harm European taxpayers.”
Albania’s government also maintains that due to the use of the phrase “candidate member” many in Europe mistakenly believe membership would be eminent, when, in fact, it is a decade or more away and subject to thousands of other checkpoints in the negotiation process.
Frank Hantke, who leads Tirana’s office of Germany’s Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation, said that for practical reasons there will be not that much difference between a positive decision in June or some months later, but it would help motivate Albanians to conduct reforms to do it sooner rather than later.
“There is a clear interdependency between a positive decision and more achievements in the country. Obviously if the country gets the candidate status it will be more motivated for the next steps. Therefore I think it is necessary to give the status as soon as possible. Then people can prove the seriousness of their politicians – in government and opposition – with their vocal efforts,” Hantke told Tirana Times.
For Rakipi, in addition to economic incentives the EU has in Albania, with many European investments already in place, an inexpensive labour force and diverse natural resources, the EU at this time needs to also focus on the geopolitical outlook in the region.
“If events in Ukraine prove one thing, it is that support for the EU stances is not guaranteed, even in the Balkans, where countries have placed EU membership as a goal above all else,” Rakipi said, citing Serbia’s refusal to join an EU statement and sanctions against Russia.
Rama told international journalists that Ukraine proves that Europe need to draw lessons on the need of faster integration. “Europe needs more strategy and less simple tactics. I hope very much that Ukraine will serve to push Europe forward,” he said.
Of course, much of the speed depends on Albania’s efforts, experts say, and Albanian officials say they do not want to take any chances. European Integration Minister Klajda Gjosha reported on the progress the country had made at the Stabilization and Association Council meeting in Brussels Monday, focusing on the economic criteria, approximation with EU legislation and financial cooperation.
Gjosha said that during 2013-2014 Albania has made a significant work in alignment with EU legislation and other reforms. She added Albania acknowledges that the standards that must be met to be accepted into the European family change over time and that all the initiatives undertaken so far by the government in view of the European agenda aimed at improving the lives of citizens and to closely approach with EU.
The European Council was represented by the Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, who said the EU had take note of work in a number of areas, with particular attention to developments related to the rule of law, including the reform of the judiciary and the fight against organized crime and corruption.
“It is up to Albania to continue building on the progress made and consolidate and intensify the reform momentum, delivering solid and convincing results on the priority areas that have been identified as getting the candidate status,” Fule said.
Fule added the commission would issue a report in June on the progress made by Albania notably focusing on the implementation the judicial reform and on the fight against corruption and organized crime.
“This will be the basis for the member states to decide on the candidate status. I see a clear road to the decision about candidate status for Albania in June; I am encouraged by the determination shown by the government and by the results achieved so far, and I am confident that the country has the capacity to tackle its European integration challenges,” Fule said
But he also added that “to succeed, European integration needs to be an inclusive process and become a national agenda. The government and the opposition need to work together, in a spirit of moderation and constructive dialogue, to achieve this common goal. … It will make progress by demonstrating with concrete results its strong commitment to sustainable implementation of the necessary reforms.”
For Prime Minister Rama, there is no better way to honor history in the region than speeding up its integration into the European Union.
“This is a region where World War I began and today we mark its 100th anniversary. This year is the first year in the Balkans without conflicts. Everything that has happened has been done in the name of Europe. So the Balkans, from the place of horrific conflicts, has become a place of peace. The Balkans now needs Europe, but Europe needs the Balkans more,” Rama said in his interview with the Austrian press.
