Today, Albania will open the second negotiation cluster with the European Union – “Internal Market,” at the Fourth Intergovernmental Conference between Albania and the EU, which is taking place this Monday in Luxembourg.

Prime Minister Edi Rama is leading the Albanian delegation in these discussions, which includes ministers, deputy ministers, and heads of departments responsible for specific clusters.
Prime Minister Rama is currently in Brussels, where he was received by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa. They will also hold a one-on-one meeting to discuss the progress made in the negotiation process, as well as preparations for the European Political Community Summit on May 16. Naturally, they will also address the situation in the region, as the President will be making his first official visit in anticipation of this Summit.

Upon his arrival, both Prime Minister Rama and President Antonio Costa spoke to the present media.

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Thank you so much for being here. I’m very pleased to be here with the President of the European Council, whose wisdom and attention to our region and to our country I appreciate very much.

And today, of course, is a very good day for us because we have another conference and open other chapters. While with the President, I’m very, very grateful for the time that he dedicated to me to have a conversation about the progress we’re making in this process and then about the coming summit of the European Political Council, that is a very, very important event in general, but it is particularly important at this moment in time.  And, of course, about the region to which the President is very specially dedicated. And so, there is a lot to discuss, but overall, I’m very, very encouraged by these developments and we are very committed to fulfill all the duties of the calendar, very ambitious, to close all the negotiations within 2027.

Mr. President, how do you evaluate this Albanian path in EU integration?

President of the European Council, Antonio Costa: First of all, I am delighted to welcome today Prime Minister Edi Rama, first of all because it is always a pleasure to meet, to talk, and to exchange with him. Secondly, because enlargement to the Western Balkans is a clear political priority for the European Union, it is our real commitment with the region, and it is the most important geopolitical investment – for peace, for prosperity, and for stability on our continent.

It is really encouraging to see the progress made by Albania in this path. Today we are opening a new cluster, and our ambition is to open more cluster negotiations during this year, because we have a very concrete schedule, and we want to deliver. This is very important for the European Union, it is very important for Albania, but I think this is also a very important sign for all of the region, because the best way to ensure prosperity, peace, and stability in the Western Balkans is with the European Union accession. That is why I will visit the region personally in the middle of May, to visit all the six Western Balkans countries, to enhance our cooperation and our common efforts to have a good result in this accession process.

On the other hand, this is a very good opportunity to talk about the upcoming European Political Community summit, on the 16th of May in Tirana. Europe is more than the European Union, and more than ever it is very important that we are all together, united, because united we are stronger, and the world needs a stronger Europe.

Thank you very much.