Statement of Commissioner Füle after the meeting of the EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Council
European Commission
Statement
Brussels, 12 May 2014
Statement of Commissioner Füle after the meeting of the EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Council
We had a very good and forward looking meeting. We have welcomed Albania's continued commitment to EU-related reforms and have taken note of the actions taken by the government in a number of areas, with particular attention to developments related to the rule of law, including the reform of the judiciary and the fight against organised crime and corruption. It is up to Albania to continue building on the progress made and consolidate and intensify the reform momentum, delivering solid and convincing results on the priority areas that have been identified as getting the candidate status. We will issue a report in June on the progress made by Albania notably focusing on the implementation the judicial reform and on the fight against corruption and organised crime. This will be the basis for the Member States to decide on the candidate status. I see a clear road to the decision about candidate status for Albania in June; I am encouraged by the determination shown by the government and by the results achieved so far, and I am confident that the country has the capacity to tackle its European integration challenges.
I have always stressed that to succeed, European integration needs to be an inclusive process and become a national agenda. The government and the opposition need to work together, in a spirit of moderation and constructive dialogue, to achieve this common goal. We will continue to monitor Albania's progress closely and further assist the country in achieving its objective of moving ahead on European integration. The key for success is in the hands of Albania itself. It will make progress by demonstrating with concrete results its strong commitment to sustainable implementation of the necessary reforms.
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