Barroso feliciteert Albanië na het sluiten van het toetredings- en associatieverdrag met de EU (en)

SPEECH/06/103

José Manuel Barroso

President of the European Commission

Parliament of Albania

Tirana, 18 February 2006

Honourable Members of Parliament,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be here in Tirana today. I have just met with President Moisiu and Prime Minister Berisha and I am encouraged by our discussions. Albania has made much progress over the past year. As a consequence, we now plan to take Albania's relationship with the European Union to the next level.

This is a challenging period for all countries in the Western Balkans, as the question of Kosovo's future status and other sensitive political and constitutional issues rise to the top of the agenda. It is in the interest of all countries in the region that these issues are settled successfully and in accordance with European standards. Failure to do so could negatively affect the whole region.

Regional cooperation has been a key element in the EU's policy for the region for more than a decade. Being a relatively small region with small economies, you have to work together to combat unemployment and other social and economic challenges successfully. Regional cooperation is not a process that is separate from, or an alternative to the European integration process. It is an integral part of it.

As a result, the EU continues to function well and the citizens of the new Member States now benefit from higher standards, a broad range of quality products, better opportunities to find work and education across the Union, and a larger market for their companies. Their countries have also become more attractive for foreign investors.

This is what we want to achieve for the countries of the Western Balkans as well. After all, citizens in this region have just as much a right to see their dreams of prosperity and stability come true. So the EU will remain firm in its commitment to all countries of the region and their future in Europe.

Let me now turn to Albania and your road towards the EU.

We have been working together for three years on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement to bring the EU and Albania closer together. The Agreement sets out how the EU and Albania will trade, discuss, decide and co-operate in a wide variety of fields. It is an ambitious document. Now that the negotiation phase has ended, I would like to express the Commission's appreciation for the work of all those people in successive Albanian governments who contributed to this success.

We were able to conclude negotiations not just because we agreed on the text, but also because of positive assessments of the progress Albania has made in a number of important areas. The conduct of last year's parliamentary elections showed that Albania has strengthened its democratic institutions - although more progress is still needed. Albania's economy is stable. And we greatly value the constructive role your country continues to play in the region.

This generation of Albanians has set itself the objective of returning Albania to the European family, where it belongs, after decades of separation during the totalitarian regime which followed the Second World War. Yes, recent history will make this task difficult. But never forget that the European Union itself was created to heal the painful divisions which afflicted the countries of our continent.

Ismail Kadaré has said that "of all the people in the Balkans who want to join Europe, the Albanians are the keenest".

Albania will now have the opportunity to prove this. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement will put in place a framework which will help Albania face the challenges of European integration. It is an important step forward on the road to Europe.

But this is no time to relax your efforts. The real work begins now that the Agreement has been initialled. Albania has to establish a track-record in implementing this Agreement, in order to move closer to the EU. Your country needs to show results in putting all the trade-related provisions of this Agreement into effect. This will be a big test for the public administration. But it is also an opportunity to show the rest of Europe that Albania has the capacity to deliver results and to prepare itself for even closer integration.

But make no mistake, despite Albania's achievements, daunting tasks lie ahead.

Albania must make serious attempts to fight organised crime and corruption. To do this Albania must combine tough action on those who break the law, with the building of a strong and independent judiciary to ensure that there is one law for all.

Albania needs to liberalise its economy, opening it up to more competition and more investment. The vital elements in achieving economic progress will be improving conditions for investment by strengthening property rights, improving public sector governance and completing privatisation.

As a country which values liberty, Albania must allow individuals and the organs of the state to be exposed to legitimate comment and criticism. This means making sure the country's media legislation meets EU standards and that full freedom of speech prevails.

To address these challenges effectively, Albania will need to possess the political will, the discipline and the tools to do the job. This means following up plans and strategies vigorously within the scope of the law. It also means maintaining a public administration that performs well, based on professionalism, integrity and service to the community.

The EU's integration agenda emphasizes unity, not division, and cross-party consensus is needed to put it into practice. A climate of constructive cooperation among political forces is conducive to reform and to the further strengthening of democratic institutions. Cooperation and mutual respect must inspire relations between political forces, institutions, central and local powers within the boundaries set out by the constitution.

Working together constructively over the long term will be vital to making a success of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. It is also important for tackling the cross-party issues which face Albania now, such as implementing the electoral reform recommendations of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

My visit here today is an appropriate moment to welcome the increasingly important role the Albanian Parliament has played in the European integration process over recent years. Its role in tackling the EU integration agenda will become even more important following the initialling of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. I encourage you to make full use of this legislation.

It is natural for parties to have different positions in a democracy. But the European agenda is one for the whole country, for the future of all Albanians. You will need a strong cross party consensus to succeed in the reform process over the year ahead. I encourage the parties to work together on this European agenda.

The EU stands ready to assist Albania's European integration efforts. We will continue to support Albania politically. We will be able to work together through an enhanced framework once the Stabilisation and Association Agreement is in place.

The EU will also continue to provide financial assistance. Since 1991, the EU has provided well over one billion euro in assistance to Albania, and almost ninety million euro are set aside for 2005 and 2006.

In its recent Communication on the Western Balkans, the Commission set out measures to help you in your efforts to consolidate stability and raise prosperity in the region. A broad range of actions are planned, and I would like to mention some of them today.

We will support the rapid conclusion of a regional free trade area and we will reinforce support for small enterprises, to help build economic strength. Experience in the EU shows that it is small and medium enterprises which generate the most new jobs, and we need to do everything possible to create an environment where they can flourish.

We understand that Albanians want to travel more easily to the EU: this year the European Commission will make proposals to ease visa requirements for the Western Balkans. Measures to simplify travel by researchers and students, and local travel across borders shared with the EU, are about to be implemented.

We will add to our existing programmes to support education and research by putting in place more scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students and researchers from the region.

The regional School for Higher Education in Public Administration should also open its doors this year. It will be an important tool for the region, and serves as an example of the importance the EU attaches to public service.

I would like to conclude by recalling the breadth of the task which we face together. EU integration is a national endeavour which requires the joint efforts of all institutions, all political forces and civil society. The EU agenda is more than a foreign policy objective: it means bringing about far-reaching reforms that will change virtually all aspects of the political, economic and social life of the country.

This is a tough challenge, but a worthy goal. Be assured that the EU will continue to support Albania in achieving it.

Thank you.