At a press conference on Wednesday, the head of the delegation led by David McAllister in the European Parliament provided details following meetings with Edi Rama, Foreign Minister Elisa Spiropali, representatives of the majority, the Parliament, and the opposition.

McAllister emphasized that the visit comes at a very important moment for Albania:

“Our visit comes at a decisive moment, as Albania has opened the final cluster of accession negotiations with the European Union and is awaiting the assessment report on its progress. We continue our strong support for Albania on its path toward EU integration. We acknowledge the results achieved in opening all negotiation chapters within 13 months. However, there is no room for complacency. Albania must continue and work even harder to meet the requirements and to conclude the negotiations.”

He also added:

“The enlargement process is a merit-based process; each country is assessed according to its fulfillment of the criteria. However, we are concerned about political polarization in the country. Violent protests have no place in a functioning democracy.”