This morning, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama welcomed the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi at Tirana International Airport.
In a joint press conference, Albania’s executive chief said that the Commissioner has been a “voice reason” within the European Commission to include the Western Balkans in the vaccination scheme.
“I want to express my gratitude and thank him in public for this extraordinary contribution in extraordinary times. Thanks to the Commissioner, the Commission turned into a solidarity engine not only for the recovery plan but also for the vaccination of European countries, including the six states in our region”, said PM Rama.
The Prime Minister also said that the total sum of €2.2 billion accorded by the EU will contribute to mobilizing the inoculation campaign in the region.
“The first batch has arrived in Albania and as of August the country will have the rest of what has been allocated”, concluded the head of the government.
Meanwhile, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Varhelyi said that Albania will receive 145.000 Pfizer doses, as a donation from the European Union.
“I am glad that we have arrived at the end of this process which has brought me here to deliver the vaccines. We have worked hard to make this a reality, a key moment, at a time when we need to come out from this pandemic. Albania will receive 145.000 Pfizer vaccines, which are not only being brought by the EU here, but they are a donation for you from our side, to show you that you matter to us. We could have not done this without the Austrian government”, he concluded.
My remarks in #Tirana: We have been on the side of #Albania from the very beginning of #COVID19 pandemic. Since March last year we helped you with everything we could. #WeCare #WesternBalkan #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/gCcipgcK8p
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) May 5, 2021
Commissioner Varhelyi initially praised the work of EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca and asserted his continuous communications with him on the situation in Albania.
Responding to the question on the polls, Varhelyi said that the process is not over yet.
“I think that after a very heated election campaign and debates what we need now is the clear and final results and I understand a period of appeals has started. We would like to see all irregularities, including possible vote-buying investigated fully and to be taken care of by judicial authorities, but after that, we will have final results. After the final results, we need a parliament to be assembled and we need the new parliament to start working very quickly on EU reforms. Without the full parliament, it is not possible to move on the EU path and there’s quite a bit to do”, said the EU Commissioner for Enlargement.
Prime Minister Edi Rama reiterated that the third mandate will not translate into a “internal political battle” and emphasized that the government will focus on “working” as well as maintained his previous stance to keep “an extended hand to the Democrats” for an inclusive dialogue and mutual contribution to push Albania forward to the European Union.
