The joint press conference between the President of the European Council Charles Michel and Prime Minister Edi Rama has convened.

The head of the Albanian government said that the country has made considerable progress with the justice reform.

Rama said among the topics discussed with the President of the Council were the war in Ukraine, Albania’s EU integration, Open Balkan, and reforms.

“I spoke with the president about the overall situation and challenges in regards to Ukraine. We spoke about the integration as we know that Albania and North Macedonia are on the agenda to review their bid for opening accession talks”, said Rama.

“We spoke about regional relations, Open Balkan, and internal regional challenges”.

“We also discussed reforms, such as the justice reform. We all saw the substantial operation led by SPAK and the Police tackling organized crime. We’re on the right path. We’ve made some significant steps in comparison to other countries that have opened negotiations a long time ago”, Rama said.

“We’re on an entirely different level of coexistence in the European political framework as a result of an ever-increasing will expressed by the EU, and Brussels, to bring the Western Balkans closer to the EU”, said Rama.

“We appreciate the EU for supporting us in moments of hardship, starting with the post-earthquake situation and to the pandemic. We’re very proud to be part of a common front, a front against evil, bearing in mind the military conflict in Ukraine”, he added.

Michel arrived in Tirana on Friday. He was received by PM Edi Rama in a formal ceremony in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.