Rapporteur Schieder: Albania is the frontrunner of the enlargement process, we are in the final stretch

Albania continues its journey toward European Union membership, as Tirana hosted the interparliamentary conference on ‘Strategic agenda for EU enlargement and Albania’s membership,’ with the participation of Albanian institutions and European Parliament representatives.

The European Parliament’s rapporteur for Albania, Andreas Schieder, expressed readiness to contribute to the EU enlargement process and praised Albania’s progress.

“Politics in Albania offers plenty of challenges, but the country itself offers many opportunities; Albania is often seen as the country on the coast and at the same time the country of the mountains — it is a perfect country. But I did not come to do tourism advertising; the main reason is that we are involved in the enlargement process, because EU enlargement is still not just a project of the future — it is something the whole continent deserves, and it is what we have all dreamed of since I was 20, the European idea, and I want to make my own contribution. In Albania, 95% of the population is pro-EU, and that is a good opportunity for the country to use this momentum. Albania is the frontrunner of the enlargement process, and for me as rapporteur it is the function of the European Parliament to look at all the details of the enlargement process from the perspective of EU parliamentary policy. Every year we produce a report, and this year’s report was voted with a large majority beyond political camps, which also shows that everyone sees the progress made by Albania,” Schieder said.

He also stressed the importance of the reforms undertaken by Albania, particularly in the rule of law, justice reform and vetting, as well as economic and environmental reforms.

“We must look at all issues, such as the rule of law, where Albania years ago undertook a very difficult vetting process, economic and environmental reforms, social impacts, where Albania is aligned with the European stance — after all these negotiations we are now, in a way, in the final stretch of the race; there are still a few chapters to close, and Albania has been quite active,” he said.