Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is in Luxembourg at the head of the Albanian delegation to participate in the second Intergovernmental Conference with the EU, which opens the chapter “Fundamentals” at the negotiating table for membership in the European Union, appeared in a joint press conference with Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, which also holds the next EU presidency, and EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi

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Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó: Good morning to all of you! The moments we have experienced during this last hour and a half have been historic, certainly considering the fact that we have opened the first group of chapters with Albania, which means, substantially speaking, the membership talks have started to made sure that Albania becomes a member of the EU as soon as possible.

The issue of accelerating EU expansion towards the Western Balkans region has been at the top of the agenda of the Hungarian presidency. We understand that the EU is losing competitiveness, it is losing its weight when it comes to global politics and the world economy. This is how we understand that the EU needs freshness, new energy, a new stimulus. Being a direct neighbor to the western region, knowing the region well, we know that this freshness, this new energy that we need will absolutely come from the Western Balkans area. Consequently, it is in the real European interest that the expansion of the EU towards the Western Balkans is accelerated.

On the other hand, we need to take urgent steps to maintain the credibility of the enlargement policy. We consider the enlargement policy as one of the most important of the EU and we have to understand that this policy has lost credibility in recent times, considering the fact that the average waiting time of the candidate countries in the Western Balkans has already exceeded 15 years.

This is simply inappropriate; we need to speed up the enlargement procedure now.

On the other hand, most member states usually state that enlargement should be a merit-based process. “Based on merits”, – we hear this as an expression very often and the merits are clearly there. If we were to see the achievements of Albania during the last years, whether in the economy, in politics, in social issues, it is obvious that the merits are present. We Hungarians can rely on our bilateral experience, I hope it will not be stopped here.

Hungarian investors play an important role for the modernization of the Albanian economy and they all tend to report that the circumstances and environment they experience in Albania are absolutely satisfactory, absolutely market-based and competitive.

On the other hand, when it comes to other areas, it is clear that Albania has done very well, when it comes to the conditions that the EU has set to be able to open the negotiation chapters.

Therefore, it is a great honor and privilege for us that the start of real essential negotiations with Albania for membership started during the Hungarian presidency. I can even say that this is becoming a habit, from our side because 14 and a half years ago, we were in this position and it was the last time when the preparations of a candidate country were completed and at that time it was Croatia.

By giving the floor to the prime minister for the closing comments, I hope that we will not have to wait until the next Hungarian presidency to have another membership.

Speaking in a more bureaucratic way, today we talked about the so-called “Fundamentals” group of chapters. There are 6 groups of chapters, which must be further negotiated.

We know because not much time has passed since we became members of the EU, we know that the negotiation process, the preparatory process is really difficult, complex, strong and we know that experience matters here, so when the prime minister honored us with his visit last Friday to Budapest, we agreed that the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hungary will provide training for 50 members of the Albanian public administration, so that they can contribute to the membership procedures and preparations in general.

Last but not least, I have to say that we are directly positioned as a neighbor of the Western Balkans and develop a very responsible neighborhood policy because we know how you feel in the neighborhood when there is peace, tranquility, development and stability in the area of ​​the western Balkans and when you experience the lack of all this. We know that the integration process can help make the Western Balkans more developed, more stable and safer. Consequently, Hungary is committed to accompanying Albania in its journey towards the EU. We will do our best in this regard.

I would like to thank the Prime Minister for not losing his patience during the last months and years to continue his dedication and commitment, and I can promise you that we will reciprocate this dedication and this patience.

On the other hand, I want to recognize the merits of the Commissioner for the expansion, not because of his citizenship, but for what he has done during the last 5 years. I think that the letter signed by 4 EU leaders, including the Prime Minister, sent to the president of the Commission, where the achievements that were obtained during the Commissioner’s mandate, tell us more about his work. To you both, thank you prime minister, thank you commissioner for honoring me to be part of this historical moment.

Thank you!

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Good morning once again to everyone! I am really happy to be here with Minister Szijjártó, in his capacity as chairman of the second meeting of the intergovernmental conference with Albania, and with Commissioner Várhelyi, following an emotional and I would say successful session of the conference that brings Albania and makes it feel pretty good and pretty safe.

So, thank you to the Hungarian presidency which has played a very important role in this process, pushing it forward and also thank you to Commissioner Várhelyi and his team who have helped and supported us all along the way for 5 long challenging and not hard years easy to say the least and thanks to all the member states, thanks to them I am standing here before this very significant step towards Albania’s EU membership and it is rightly a historical day, with historical significance for Albania and Albanians, but in my perspective and for the EU we don’t need, at least I hope not, a reminder of the importance of standing and working together bound by the principles and values ​​that define the EU.

This is especially true in these challenging times when a host of crises have come upon us with the need to come closer and stick together and the literal need to face ourselves and figure out how to move forward.

Unfortunately, and this cannot go without saying, it was with the help of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that this process gained a new speed after his aggression in Ukraine served as a wake-up call reminding Europe that the illusion of self-sufficiency it is just that, an illusion and to clarify in the hardest way that you need the Western Balkans, as much as the Western Balkans need the EU.

Thus, the opening of the basic chapter group today with the 5 main chapters plus the three criteria constitutes a great achievement and I believe for both sides, Albania and the EU, and marks a historic cornerstone in the joint journey towards complete European reunification.

Yesterday, I was in Berlin for the Berlin process and a journalist asked me if Albania has a plan B, in case the EU once again delays or complicates the process, as it has honestly done in the past. And yes, unfortunately it is true that sometimes the EU can be unfair and it has been unfair to the candidate countries, it was unfair to us when it rejected the recommendations of its own Commission based on facts and what makes the European Commission the most reliable drafter of the report to start talks with Albania more than once.

However, we Albanians cannot have a plan B when it comes to individual freedom, rule of law and functional democracy. History has taught us the hard way that this cannot be found, or even guaranteed, outside the EU sphere. These are the A, B and C of the European way of life.

To choose an alternative to full EU membership would be to give up the way of life we ​​recently chose, after enduring the dark ages under the empires and regimes that were imposed on us. For us, it is not a pro-European rhetoric, it is a matter of life and death, for our dream to leave future generations a country where individual freedom is indisputable, where the rule of law is respected and where democracy works for everyone. The alternatives to this dream are only nightmares of other kinds.

The alternatives to this dream are only nightmares of other kinds. We are here today because Albania has absolutely fulfilled all the prerequisites to start this phase of membership and remains steadfast in its determination to fulfill all future obligations. We will do this together with our partners through negotiations with clear commitments and through hard work.

We do it with renewed efforts to strengthen the achievements made in the reform of justice, promoting a more transparent, more accountable judicial system, and I told you today what I have told the member states for the first time in our history, since Albania became a sovereign state in 1912 we are seeing high-profile investigations and political figures being accused or convicted before an independent court, regardless of their ties to the ruling party or others.

We will do this by fighting corruption and organized crime at every level to guarantee the security of our citizens and to deserve our place at the EU table.

Our new justice institutions, born out of the most comprehensive fundamental justice reform undertaken by a candidate country before joining the EU, are making significant progress alongside the law enforcement agencies of European partners. This progress will only deepen further. We will do this by protecting and preserving human rights, certainly in an inclusive society that respects diversity and protects the rights of minority groups, ensuring compliance with European international human rights standards.

We have already implemented a fairly progressive legal framework, based on the standards of the Council of Europe, serving as a shining example for many others, including countries within the European Union, when it comes to the commitment to an inclusive society, where all minorities are equal and equally protected, and our will to live in spirit and in letter of this legislation will soon be complemented by by-laws.

We will do this by strengthening the functionality and integrity of our democratic framework with public administration that is guided by the principles of efficiency, transparency and meritocracy on the excellent work of a large team of national negotiators during the challenging phase of checking legislation with the EU and we will strengthen this public administration in the service of our citizens and our future in the European Union and this is the moment to thank Prime Minister Orbán and his government, who have shown us since the first day and emphasized it when I went to Budapest the willingness to help, to pass on the knowledge that Hungary has acquired during its process of approaching and then joining the European Union.

Thus, I am very grateful to my dear friend Peter and for this recent commitment of your excellent academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be put at the service of increasing the skills and level of our negotiating capacities.

I don’t want to take more time.

Let me conclude by expressing the conviction that any success that Albania achieves in the EU integration process should also be seen as another step forward for the entire region.

Once again, more than ever, the EU needs the Western Balkans, as much as the Western Balkans need the EU, showing the way to the EU, standing firm to its values ​​and principles is a very vivid expression of this commitment. And our countries may have quite a few differences in different stages of this process, but one thing is the same everywhere.

The desire to be part of this union which is the most successful project of peace and development that humanity has created. For Albania there is no other future, there is no other country and there is no other path except our future in the EU, our country within the EU and the path of the EU. Thank you!

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi: Dear Prime Minister, Honorable Minister Szijjártó!

Dear friends!

I think you are celebrating a very important decision today, although the whole process seems very technical, we opened the first chapter of the negotiations that has already opened the way for the essential talks, which means that we will now negotiate the conditions in which Albania will be a member of the European Union.

This is what is happening today.

I would also like to thank the Hungarian presidency that has started the work, making enlargement not only a political priority, but also devoting extraordinary efforts to promote and push forward the institutional process, which means taking all the necessary decisions, to develop all the appropriate meetings to move forward and towards the conclusion of the membership talks.

It is now indisputable, I think, for the EU and its leaders that enlargement is among the three main priorities. It is among these three priorities because without enlargement, Europe cannot become stronger. We need enlargement to make the European Union stronger.

Compared to where we started in 2019, we have come a long way. I remember very well the first day in office when I had to call Prime Minister Rama early in the morning because they were faced with a devastating earthquake, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake. We immediately intervened to try to help and I think this shaped the rest of the mandate and not only shaped the mandate, but also brought a new approach because what I inherited from the Juncker Commission which the prime minister already mentioned previously, was more of a scene like a crashed car rather than a wallet. We had three failed attempts to reach agreement on starting membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia. That was the point from which I had to start, and basically it was necessary to get the enlargement policy up, first, on its feet, and then deal with real integration, which means knowing how we would achieve similar economies, similar societies in the Western Balkans even before membership takes place and this was done through the Economic Investment Plan.

The first was to design a new methodology and then the third is the growth plan, which is already accelerating the expansion and to make it possible that at the end of the mandate of the next Commission, we can see Prime Minister Rama to appoint the first Commissioner or submit his proposal for the first Commissioner in the Commission.

When I discussed with the prime minister my plans and told him that “I think we can do our best”, he looked at me, we didn’t know each other, but he looked at me, how should I say, with a modest level of questioning whether this would be possible and it is possible. It is possible because Albania took a new approach when it comes to doing things and this new approach means not being afraid to do whatever is necessary.

If we will take some examples. In 2020, we had quite big concerns regarding organized crime, corruption, and the judicial system, and we really went very deep with the prime minister and he has committed himself, he has implemented it, but by taking actions, together with the states members building trust piece by piece, brick by brick and I think that was an essential element in the success that the country has already accumulated.

If you look back and see where we are now, we passed COVID, we had to send vaccines, a big decision was made in 2020 to start negotiations, then we faced another problem that had nothing to do with Albania, but in 2022 we had the First Intergovernmental Conference with Albania, which meant that membership talks started.

Along with this, we also started to build Europe in Albania. We have addressed issues that I think have been a problem for a number of decades. The Vlora Bypass that we inaugurated, now you already have the College of Europe in Albania, the first in the Western Balkans and the list can go on very, very long and this has happened because Albania has never stopped doing everything necessary in the journey towards the EU and I hope that this continues because if this continues, it means that in all the instruments we have in our hands, Albania can prepare itself to become a member at the end of the next mandate, but it means that in ground, likewise, we must implement the Economic Investment Plan. So, we have good news. We are at the level of 60% implementation. I think it’s probably the most successful part of the entire EU budget, 60% so far alone, which means that not only have we succeeded in terms of implementation, but it means that effectively, the program is above what should we have, in fact, 7 billion is  for necessary investments that we can accelerate to another 20 billion investments in the region, investments in the economy, not investments in general, investments that will create a new economy and a new society in the Western Balkans, either in terms of connectivity, energy, the environment, or the treatment of waste or polluted water.

In all aspects of daily life, the European Union is accelerating the pace and meanwhile waiting for you to undertake the reforms necessary for you to become members. Prime Minister, you already have everything at your disposal so I hope that when the time comes for you to leave, you will speed up the work even more which I know you are very fond of.

Thank you very much!

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– Prime Minister, the first question about a broader feature of Europe. Your deal with Italy to process migrants seems to have inspired other EU countries. I know EU leaders are likely to discuss such similar deals when they meet next week. Has any other country approached you about this and what would you say to those skeptics who say you are doing the EU’s dirty work?

-Foreign Minister, many analysts say that the only way for the EU to expand credibly is to do away with the unanimous vote and thus avoid blocking the bloc vote. Has Hungary ever considered giving up its veto?

Commissioner, I am also interested in your thoughts on what the EU needs to do about its own homework or its own reforms in order to be able to expand, grow and admit new members to the club? Thank you very much!

 Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you for the question. I have explained at length to countless journalists, according to my standards, in Berlin yesterday, about the reason why Albania has made this agreement and how we see this phenomenon. Once again, yes, we have been asked by others and we have said no.

Second, everyone should understand that our relationship with Italy is quite special and goes back thousands of years, but it also goes back in time with a volume, a very significant volume of interaction, over the last 30-plus years, since we came out of the hellhole of the most cruel communist regime in Europe, when hundreds of thousands left our shores and Italy opened its arms for us or when Italy came to save us from a possible financial disaster after the collapse of the pyramid schemes and coming to the days of the earthquake that Commissioner Várhelyi rightly mentioned, as the beginning of our reconstruction of this relationship, when the members of the Italian emergency aid were the first to come and risk their lives to save the lives of those Albanians under the ruins, so this is very important. If this was a dirty job for Italy, then we must reciprocate.

Thirdly, don’t forget, we are not an EU country, we are an E-European country and this is not a certificate that we received in Brussels or that can be obtained from Brussels. Thus, our geography speaks a lot about what we have done for Italy and yes, if there is anything to be processed, to be developed on this model, it should be at the upper levels or upper levels of the European Union and of the Western Balkans and this is another reason, this phenomenon, to understand why the European Union and the Western Balkans should stay close and work closely with each other. The phenomenon of immigration is not something that you can solve a piece here and a piece there, but as a whole, guaranteeing a comprehensive EU-wide approach to this phenomenon, because it is one thing to fight illegal immigration and another the other is to guarantee regular migration, and Europe must do both.

At the end of this maybe a bit long answer of mine, but out of respect for your presence here and following this historical moment for Albania, I would say that we are very willing to do whatever is necessary to be a member state proud of the EU. We know, we are aware of our size and weight and even though I am one of the tallest among the prime ministers, this does not distract me from the fact that I represent one of the smallest countries. I know that sometimes for the little one there is a lot of work to do, but it is not a menu. When you enter a big family, you can’t just choose sweets and delicious food. Sometimes you have to get other things that are on the menu that maybe aren’t that tasty, but you have to do it. This is how we see our commitment to this family, being loyal to the end and in fact I have told the member states as well. The EU will never have a more loyal member than Albania. We have proven it throughout our history. We are very loyal to empires. Thank you very much!

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó: To put it simply, I think that giving up the condition of unanimity would lead to the destruction of the European Union. I will tell you why. Because if unanimity were to be eliminated, it would affect, reduce the role of medium and small countries because if there was no need for unanimity, it would be the big ones who would decide on the important issues, so the work of medium and small countries will only say “po, oui, yes”, and so on, but this is not the way a country should be treated. It is not accidental why the functioning of the EU is based on treaties, on methodologies, parts of which require unanimity when decisions are made on important issues. I must also tell you that those Member States who cite unanimity as an obstacle to enlargement are basically just looking for excuses to say why they are not enthusiastic about enlargement because believe me, if I have to name the space where hypocrisy or the area where hypocrisy is at the top in the EU, then enlargement would be one of them, because something else speak in front of the audience my colleagues and something else among them and unfortunately, I have to say that some of them do not say the same thing behind closed doors and do not say the same in public, so we want that those who say something different while in closed doors, at the end of the day, to say the same thing, like everyone else.

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi: The way the EU should be reformed to welcome new members, I think the Commission has been quite clear about the fact that the current, institutional configuration of the treaties is perfectly capable of welcoming new members. I continue to believe that it is so. We see enlargement and internal reforms as parallel discussions and it is best to keep them that way, parallel. On the contrary, it will all become a process where we are searching for the soul as they say. That’s one of the things. Another thing is that we have a unique opportunity before us and that is why I have insisted so much on the admission of new members at the end of the next term. If you look at the calendar, it is assumed that we will create a new MFF from 2027. Here I see that bigger changes need to be made to be able to welcome new members. So, when this new MFF is created, there should be space for this and this is a new indicator to see if the EU will welcome new members at the end of the next mandate.

– This is an important day for the Albanian people. Congratulations! Prime Minister Rama, I want to know what steps you will take to complete this process before 2030? Thank you!

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you! It is our goal to complete this process within this decade and be ready to knock on the doors of the European Council as a member state, and this is certainly very ambitious. It will require a tremendous amount of work. We have worked very closely with the Commission and together we have drawn up a roadmap, once again, quite ambitious. We have a plan and we also rely on our friends and partners to help us achieve this and when I say help, it’s two-way, not only politically, where fortunately we have quite a lot of support, but also technically where we need knowledge, we need brain support.

By doing all this I am very confident that as far as we are concerned, we will meet all the standards or milestones. A concept that entered my life today and will haunt me for the rest of this decade until we come here and hopefully hear that we’ve met these intermediate standards and then of course it has to do with political decision making, but until then what is important for us is to make Albania a member country in the way it functions, in the way it does things, in the way of being and this is the most important thing because we don’t want Albania to leave, take the bags and to come to Brussels. We want the European Union to be in Albania. If you paid attention to what Commissioner Varhelyi said, he mentioned something that is actually our motto. He said: “In Albania we started to build Europe” and this is exactly what we want to finish, to build Europe in Albania.

– Congratulations Prime Minister Rama for this great step. Last week in Strasbourg, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the integration of the Western Balkans is not possible without Serbia.

Minister Szijjártó, how do you see the chances during the Hungarian presidency to reach further milestones in the other countries of the Western Balkans to open a few more chapters with them.

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary: As I said at the beginning, when it comes to the agenda of the presidency, we have put the issue of accelerating the expansion of the Western Balkans at the top of it and we have some very concrete plans. One of them was realized today. It was a very clear plan and objective of ours to start genuine negotiations with Albania. So, we can tick this box. Partly because I believe that if everyone does their job fairly and properly then before the end of the year another group of chapters can be opened with Albania, which is 6, which is more about foreign relations and it is clear that practically, pragmatically, if you look at this issue, Albania is ready, so I hope that all the bureaucratic tasks of Albania will be done here in Brussels and then we will be able to sit down for another intergovernmental conference before the end of the mandate of this presidency.

We have a very clear objective when it comes to Serbia. It is clear that Serbia is capable and ready to open other chapters related to comprehensive growth and development. If you travel to Belgrade twice in one month you can see what development and growth means, so those bureaucrats here who are worried about whether Serbia is ready to open chapters I would advise them to travel twice in two days to Belgrade and see how ready they are. So, with this clear objective, I hope that those member countries that are more critical of Serbia will not raise obstacles to open another intergovernmental conference with Serbia, and it would be preferable to open the group of chapters for inclusive growth and development. If this would not be possible, at least we should have an intergovernmental political conference to demonstrate the commitment of both sides for the integration process of Serbia.

– This is an important day for the Albanian people. Congratulations! Prime Minister Rama, I want to know what steps you will take to complete this process before 2030? Thank you!

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you! It is our goal to complete this process within this decade and be ready to knock on the doors of the European Council as a member state, and this is certainly very ambitious. It will require a tremendous amount of work. We have worked very closely with the Commission and together we have drawn up a roadmap, once again, quite ambitious. We have a plan and we also rely on our friends and partners to help us achieve this and when I say help, it’s two-way, not only politically, where fortunately we have quite a lot of support, but also technically where we need knowledge, we need brain support. By doing all this I am very confident that as far as we are concerned, we will meet all the standards or milestones. A concept that entered my life today and will haunt me for the rest of this decade until we come here and hopefully hear that we’ve met these intermediate standards and then of course it has to do with political decision making, but until then what is important for us is to make Albania a member country in the way it functions, in the way it does things, in the way of being and this is the most important thing because we don’t want Albania to leave, take the bags and to come to Brussels. We want the European Union to be in Albania. If you paid attention to what Commissioner Varhelyi said, he mentioned something that is actually our motto. He said: “In Albania we started to build Europe” and this is exactly what we want to finish, to build Europe in Albania.

– Congratulations Prime Minister Rama for this great step. Last week in Strasbourg, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the integration of the Western Balkans is not possible without Serbia.

Minister Szijjártó, how do you see the chances during the Hungarian presidency to reach further milestones in the other countries of the Western Balkans to open a few more chapters with them.

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary: As I said at the beginning, when it comes to the agenda of the presidency, we have put the issue of accelerating the expansion of the Western Balkans at the top of it and we have some very concrete plans. One of them was realized today. It was a very clear plan and objective of ours to start genuine negotiations with Albania. So, we can tick this box. Partly because I believe that if everyone does their job fairly and properly then before the end of the year another group of chapters can be opened with Albania, which is 6, which is more about foreign relations and it is clear that practically, pragmatically, if you look at this issue, Albania is ready, so I hope that all the bureaucratic tasks of Albania will be done here in Brussels and then we will be able to sit down for another intergovernmental conference before the end of the mandate of this presidency.

We have a very clear objective when it comes to Serbia. It is clear that Serbia is capable and ready to open other chapters related to comprehensive growth and development. If you travel to Belgrade twice in one month you can see what development and growth means, so those bureaucrats here who are worried about whether Serbia is ready to open chapters I would advise them to travel twice in two days to Belgrade and see how ready they are. So, with this clear objective, I hope that those member countries that are more critical of Serbia will not raise obstacles to open another intergovernmental conference with Serbia, and it would be preferable to open the group of chapters for inclusive growth and development. If this would not be possible, at least we should have an intergovernmental political conference to demonstrate the commitment of both sides for the integration process of Serbia.

When it comes to Montenegro, it is the country with the largest number of open chapters. They are ready to close 4 or 5 of them. we have a clear objective here, to hold another intergovernmental conference with Montenegro during our mandate, so that they can close those chapters where they have met all milestones or final standards.

We are certainly ready to support the other candidates, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia as well. I think the ideal situation would be to develop intergovernmental conferences with both of these. But it doesn’t just depend on us, it doesn’t just depend on the presidency, it doesn’t just depend on the commissioner, it depends on the consensus of the 24 and here comes the problem I mentioned, that even though you can hear pro-enlargement statements from most member states publicly , believe me that when we sit together, some of them raise criticism, raise obstacles and so on instead of supporting the process. These are our clear plans for the remaining two and a half months of our presidency.

– I want to ask you, what kind of difficulties do you expect Mr. Szijjártó during the process and how should the EU enlargement policy change?

Commissioner Varhelyi, you mentioned that in April the European Union created a 6 million euro instrument to speed up the integration of the Western Balkans. How has this instrument fared? Are there visible results?

And for the prime minister, how did the participating countries take this initiative?

Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary: We have not been, in fact we have become members of the EU not long ago, so we do not forget the complexity and the level of challenges to say. We do not forget them. We remember very vividly when it comes to the process that was very long, very complicated and very complex and we know that experience matters here, so we are sure of the fact that this will be a demanding process for Albania. The maximum we can do is to share our experience, as we have done with Moldova, as we have agreed with Bosnia and Herzegovina and now with Albania for the training process from our academy for public administration. 50 of them will participate in Albania to get the necessary knowledge, expertise and experience on how to move forward with the membership procedures. We will be present here beyond the presidency to help them throughout the process.

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi: How much is the Growth Plan? The Growth Plan was approved this year and works in two ways.

First, it offers additional investments in all areas where we need significant investments to implement all the reforms necessary to become members of the EU. There are 6 billion euros of funds that have been allocated for this Plan, but for it to work we need to get from the candidate countries, which means we need to have a reform agenda for each of them which provides an outline of what they want to do until the end of this financial period, essentially until the end of 2027.

This is a program which will achieve the same effect, result as a program with a normal cycle, but half of a very annual financial framework, we are talking about 3 and a half years. Therefore, the reform agenda will be key. This is what we have agreed on so far with our partners, only Bosnia Herzegovina is missing. These reform agendas were approved by the Council last week, so basically, we expect the first payments to be made within this month. This is the plan. This also means that time is actually running out for countries to continue with reforms so that we can make further payments.

At the end of this multi-year financial framework, this plan, which mobilizes a value of 1/3 of the GDP of the entire region, will ensure or we will have an aid intensity that coincides with that of the cohesion framework for the member states, which means 90% of the aid they receive per capital, will also be received by the Western Balkans. This means that after this, there will be no justification other than being ready to become members of the European Union. Not only are we on the right track, but we’ve taken a big step forward and I hope it continues. With the Growth Plan, we will speed up all those reforms that are necessary to become members.

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you very much! Let me tell you, when I walked into these hallways a decade ago, I swear my hair were much darker. 10 years have been a long way and when I think that during these 10 years Albania has doubled its GDP, almost tripled its minimum wage, doubled the average wage in the public sector, reduced the debt below 60%, increased foreign direct investment, has become the most fashionable and intensive tourism destination in Europe, which has had the largest increase in airport travel, going from a low figure of 1 million tourists per year, more for to stay with Albanians from surrounding countries, more than 10 million now. And when I see that in the process of integration we have changed so many things together with Commissioner Varhelyi and Commissioner von der Leyen, because we enter a new dynamic of dialogue and understanding with each other that cannot be either everything or nothing in the end , but it must be something between that and as I said Putin also helped us, we have many new things which were not the case for other countries when they tried to become members of the European Union. The new Growth Plan is part of this, it is not only a financial instrument, because journalists everywhere, even in Albania, see only the financial part, but it also has to do with integration into the common European market. Only payments, just being part at the end of this year and starting from the beginning of next year, to be part of the common payment space for all Albanian citizens living abroad, mean tens of millions of euros saved from monetary transfers and this is only one of many things that can be considered or calculated. And in fact, the way we have waited, with a lot of encouragement because 5 years ago, these things seemed impossible, while today they are a reality.

As Commissioner Varhelyi mentioned, we were humiliated three times, three times one after the other. We were ready. The commission said we were ready and then the dynamics, as Peter mentioned, inside the doors, behind closed doors, were such that three times we were humiliated, but what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, a German philosopher said and so we have come out of it stronger and here we are today.

We know that we have a long way away, we have no illusions and we know that old habits don’t go away easily, so, the road can turn into a road of obstacles again, but for us there is no other way, there is no other place, there is no other future and something that everyone must understand. When Albanians fall in love, no one can stop them.

– First of all, good morning and congratulations! I have three questions. Any questions for each of the speakers. The first question for Commissioner Varhelyi. Commissioner, today the EU actually separated Albania from North Macedonia. Is there any chance that these countries will be reunited and what will happen about it?

And the second for minister Szijjártó, minister, what does Hungary intend to do to reunite Albania with North Macedonia?

And the third question for Prime Minister Rama. Your Excellency, you have attacked Bulgaria more than once for its policy towards the Republic of North Macedonia. After the two countries broke away from each other already, do you still think you were right about those attacks?

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi: Thank you very much! It seems that this is the only question you are interested in, even though it has nothing to do with Albania’s intergovernmental conference today. However, I am happy to answer. Let me correct you in the answer because if both countries were together in some way, but not legally, legally never, politically maybe, both countries have started the first intergovernmental conference in quite different ways and spheres in 2022. It is not new that Albania is walking its own journey, because it is a process based on merit and this also applies to North Macedonia.

Joining the candidate countries with each other would mean that we compromise or allow the principles of merit to be compromised and this is one of the cornerstones of the Copenhagen criteria.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó: I want to emphasize that Albania has deserved to start substantive talks for a long time, and I believe that North Macedonia would also deserve to start substantive talks literally essential.

We know what the obstacles are and what I can promise you as the Hungarian president and as a pro-enlargement country is that we will continue to support both countries so that they can go through the membership process as quickly as possible.

Prime Minister Edi Rama: My friend, you are familiar with this neighboring region and you know that Albania has joined forces with others many times. They made us together with the Ottomans, then with the Italians, then they made us with the Yugoslavians, they forced us to become a couple with Stalin in the former Soviet Union, then with Mao Zedong in China. So, in all these pairings, we realized that we don’t want to become a couple by force, but we wanted to find our happiness in the only couple that is Albania and the European Union. This path was opened and quite suddenly we found ourselves united with Macedonia. Let me say it wasn’t so bad because we were able to share our dark situations with each other, we looked a bit like Vladimir and Estragon waiting for Godot and back then Brussels looked like an imitation of Samuel Beckett, but I don’t think this it was something that you or we should see or should see as a never-ending story. I must say that we feel really sad, I say this sincerely, that our brothers from North Macedonia have not yet been able to enter this stage of the process, while they were among the first, if not the first at all who started the process.

So, when I talk about our humiliations, three times one after the other, we were refused to start membership talks, I feel a little bit uncomfortable because I have to think about the humiliation of North Macedonia. It even changed her name so she could start this thing. So yes, I stand by everything I said about our Bulgarian friends because history cannot be a reason to stop accession talks for any country.

Different views on who the national hero’s mother was and who she made love to or what the biometric identity was at the time and who they were dating when they decided to make love are very, very interesting topics for historians, but I don’t think they are part of everything that connects us to become part of the European Union. This continues to be valid. It’s not an attack against our Bulgarian friends, we’re just saying something obvious.

For us and for me, the achievement of the European Union is to learn to see the path of the past with the eyes of the future and not the future with the eyes of the past because that would bring complications.

Last in line and not out of importance and I repeat it and by the way, yesterday at the meeting of the Berlin Process, everyone without exception declared that bilateralization, i.e. the decision on bilateral levels of the membership process towards the European Union is something sick, it is sick because if it sets this process on a bilateral basis, it only harms a country, it only harms what we say is a family of values ​​and principles.

The integration process for Albania and for the region is something that is slightly different from what it was for the Hungarians. Communism for the Hungarians was a cruel accident on the way to a nation that had a state, that had institutions, academia and all that; not democracy, but all other things for hundreds of years.

For us, meanwhile, it is different. We, in our history, do not have the tradition of institutions, we do not have in our history the tradition of a state that works regardless of the system, and we only had 50 years of a completely useless communist state for integration in Europe and a few years of efforts to make a state forward this. So, to stop us from moving forward with the talks by putting forward, bringing bilateral claims or putting us at the service of elections in the member countries of the European Union is to stop our oxygen, to stop us from the knowledge that comes from this building, from this complex of institutions that means knowing how to build institutions, how to make reforms, how to make sure that values, principles, standards are embodied in the way the state works.

You cannot learn this from books, you cannot find this anywhere. Afghanistan failed, Iraq failed, all others outside this continent who have sought to find democracy, to flourish, to walk are destined to fail for one simple reason, they are not blessed to be on this continent and have the European Union as a source of knowledge and knowledge, as a source of everything you need, not only to have theoretical knowledge, but also to know practically, to make the country ready to be a member state, which means a guarantee of individual freedoms, of rule of law and functional democracy.

To prevent Macedonia and then North Macedonia, I hope it does not become South Macedonia, to do this was to do a very great harm to a nation, to do a very great harm to a people, to do a lot of damage to our region.

I continue to stand by this and I can tell everyone that this is not a confrontation, it is a fact. I love Alexander the Great, we all love Alexander the Great, but I don’t want to know, I don’t want to know where he was born and I’m not pretending to take my part as an Albanian in his genes because we have many Albanians who can claim that Napoleon is Albanian. Don’t want us to raise a bilateral issue with France over this, because then we will have a bilateral dispute over Corsica and this will never end.

Einstein was Albanian, you know? What do we do?

Please, we have to be serious and there always comes the moment, – and I’ll end it here, – the moment to block. Let countries grow, let countries do their jobs, let countries learn how to build institutions, let countries implement whatever is necessary to have individual liberties, rule of law and democracy and then when it comes to become a member, to say “Not that I don’t like your name”, but at least you gave it everything to function as an EU member state and then say “I don’t like the name”, ok, very fair, but not when the countries need the knowledge, not when the countries need the aid, not when the countries need the support because then you will have a country where 20 years ago there was an undisputed pro-western, pro- Euro-Atlantic and today you see who is in charge of Macedonia, North Macedonia because I don’t want to have a call from my Greek colleague telling me “the Macedonia”. No, no. It is the North. Thank you!