Tengrinews.kz - Albania has commenced substantive negotiations for joining the European Union, with representatives from Brussels and Tirana meeting in Luxembourg. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama aims for the country to join the EU by 2030, citing DW.
Tirana is ready to "embark on the most challenging part of the process," said Prime Minister Edi Rama.
"We Albanians cannot have a 'Plan B' when it comes to personal freedom, the rule of law, and democracy. Any alternative to EU membership would mean abandoning the way of life we have chosen," Rama stated.
Germany’s Minister of State for Europe, Anna Lührmann, welcomed the transition to substantial negotiations, stating that it brought Albania "a step closer to the dream of EU membership." She pledged continued constructive support for Albania on its path to the EU.
Albania joined NATO in 2009 and applied for EU membership that same year. The first intergovernmental conference on accession negotiations took place in July 2022. For a long time, progress was tied to North Macedonia's EU integration, but in September, EU countries moved away from this practice, giving new momentum to the negotiations.
Earlier, on October 14, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed hope that Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro would join the European Union by 2034.
