Former ambassador Bimo: Von der Leyen conveyed positive messages. Albania’s membership must be with equal rights

Former ambassador Roland Bimo has commented on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Albania, focusing on the European integration process and on how the country’s membership in the European Union is being presented.

On the “3D nga Alban Dudushi” show on RTSH, Bimo drew attention to the distinction between “veto” and “vote,” arguing that the debate should not focus only on the right to block decision-making, but also on the right to take part in it.

According to him, Albania, as a candidate country, will not have the same decision-making rights as member states until full membership. Speaking about von der Leyen’s visit, Bimo described it as an important event for Albania and praised the positivity of the messages conveyed during it.

“There is a wordplay with the narrative that is not accidental: ‘veto’ and ‘vote.’ Vote and veto. Veto is used in the narrative, as if we would be the spoilsport boy of the European Union, whereas what is at issue is that you have no right to vote. It is extremely important because you will be in a club where you have no right to say what you think in decision-making. So it is not simply a matter of ‘veto’ and ‘vote.’ Nevertheless, I would say that the President’s visit is a landmark event for Albania. We do not experience visits of this level and character every day. Her rhetoric was extremely positive, first of all for the government, but also for Albania and for the Albanian people. So, from the point of view of public relations, this visit has nothing to be faulted for; on the contrary, it was beautifully tailored,” he said.

Bimo stresses that Albania’s integration should not be seen only as a technical and administrative process, but also as a political process linked to full participation in EU decision-making. According to him, full membership means that Albania should have equal rights, including the right to vote in the European institutions.

“If you look, neither the Prime Minister nor von der Leyen ever used the word ‘politics’ in their whole discourse. By this I mean that, on the part of the European Union, Albania’s case, like that of any other country, is being channelled as simply an administrative process without a political component. Albania will be integrated as an administrative zone and not as a political one. This is also linked to the right to vote or the right to participate with equal rights. So there is no political component in the European Union for Albania’s membership,” Bimo said.