The Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka, participated in the forum of Antalya, revolving around the theme, “Neighbors SEE together: Future of Europe”.
Also, present in the forum, were the member of the EU parliament, Sergey Lagodinsky, the representative of the EU for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, and the former PM of Romania, Viktor Ponta.
The Albanian chief diplomat emphasized that the European Union should continue to stay devoted to the region of the Western Balkans through concrete actions and by keeping its promises.
“The policy of enlargement is based on the iron principle of appreciating the merits of each country. However, this also requires the predictability of the process, through which every achievement of standards or criteria, should take (a nation) to the next step toward its road to the EU. Such a process, a trustworthy and tangible one, would be an irreplaceable support in response to all the difficult reforms we have carried out,” said the minister.
Lajcak and Lagodinsky emphasized that there shouldn’t be any delays in the opening of negotiations for Albania and North Macedonia.
For three days in a row, the Summit and Ministerial of the Process of Collaboration of Southeastern Europe and the first Forum of Diplomacy in Antalya were held in Turkey, where leaders of countries and governments from over 30 countries around the world were gathered, and Albania was represented by the delegation led by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka.
Albania is waiting for the green light in terms of holding the first Intergovernmental Conference with the European Union, taking into consideration the fact that one of the most skeptical countries within the Union, the Netherlands has now officially confirmed its approval.
The Parliament of Netherlands voted a few days ago, in favor of opening negotiations for Albania, but the decision was also accompanied by a major condition, which foresees: the continued supervision of Albania’s progress in this journey.
According to the request of the Dutch MPs, this supervision should be conducted by the European Commission and it should ensure the inclusion of the Netherlands through its representatives.
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