Where does Albania’s integration stand?

TIRANA, Nov. 2 – Last month Albania got a negative answer from Brussels on its candidate status request and also its progress towards membership of the bloc.
The European Union will convene again in December, and that will be another target prior to which the tiny western Balkan country should strive to fulfill at least some of the criteria it has been given.
Unfortunately, neither current politics nor Albanian citizens’ perceptions are exhibiting positive indicators in this regard.
According to a recent study by the Albanian Institute for International Studies, the number of Albanians who are against or uncertain about their country’s membership in the European Union has risen to the highest level since 2006. Despite that rise, the study also found the majority of Albanians continue to support the country’s EU membership bid.
“Albania is in Europe and our nation is just becoming again a European nation,” Ismail Kadare, a leading figure in Albanian literature and cultural life for more than four decades, said at a meeting as part of the “Two Languages-One Book” project held on the premises of Luigj Gurakuqi University in Shkoder last week.
“Europe is a big orchestra where each nation brings in something of its own and Albania has a lot to convey from the religious harmony to prominent historic figures like Ismail Qemali, who was the first to raise his voice against the Armenian genocide,” Kadare underlined. He also added that “Albanian language ranks among 10-12 most important languages of Europe’s Indo-European language family, a fact almost never highlighted by our writers.”
Hopefully, similar zeal for Albania’s European integration will soon be exhibited in the daily work of Albanian politicians.