The postponement of the decision to begin accession negotiations could lead to a widespread crisis in the Balkans and Europe The decision of the EU foreign ministers to postpone the start of the accession negotiations for North Macedonia and Albania until October 2019 can be described, at the very least, as a “cold shower”. The […]
A joint communiqué is signed by former Foreign Ministers, Albania’s Ditmir Bushati, Bulgaria’s Daniel Mitov, Greece’s Nikos Kotzias and Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, to begin without delay the European route of North Macedonia and Albania. Joint communiqué: “The European Commission presented its Communication on the 2019 EU enlargement policy with the accompanying Country Reports on 29 […]
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said on June 18 that she regrets that it had not been possible for EU foreign ministers to make a decision on starting accession negotiations with the Republic of North Macedonia and with Albania. Zaharieva was quoted in a Foreign Ministry statement after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, in […]
EU ministers chairing the General Affairs Council have started discussion on the 2019 enlargement package and on opening formal membership negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. According to the draft communique released from Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council, the EU ministers from the bloc’s 28 states will re-examine the issue in October. The Council takes stock […]
The European Union “must not lose credibility” as it weighs opening membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia, said German EU Affairs Minister Michael Roth. In his opinion, the two countries “have done their homework” assigned by Brussels, adding that North Macedonia deserves commendation for settling a name dispute last year with neighbouring Greece. Speaking […]
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini congratulated North Macedonia on the anniversary of the Prespa Agreement and urged EU member countries to greenlight the start of talks with North Macedonia and Albania. “Today’s the first anniversary of signing the Prespa Agreement between North Macedonia and Greece,” Mogherini said. “We […]
North Macedonia and Albania should get a date in June or July to start talks, said High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini at Wednesday’s meeting with President Stevo Pendarovski in Brussels. Mogherini said she would recommend this to all EU member countries’ foreign ministers next week, once again acknowledging our country’s […]
The Dutch government will continue to keep the doors for Albania’s accession talks closed. The confirmation has come from the Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok during a parliamentary debate with opposition parties. “The government is not interested on opening accession talks between EU and Albania. Albania still has a long journey ahead”, he said. Meanwhile, […]
NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg will travel to Tirana for a two hour visit on Sunday, June 2. NATO has announced in a press release that “on Sunday, June 2, NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg will hold a visit to Tirana”. Stoltenberg will hold a meeting with the president Ilir Meta, PM Edi Rama and […]
The European Commission has published today the annual enlargement package, which sets out the progress made by the countries aspiring EU membership. The European Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn said that the European Commission recommends the opening of accession talks for Albania and North Macedonia, while demanding these two countries to pursue with their efforts to […]
Opposition in Albania held another big demonstration last evening in the capital Tirana in a bid to convince socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign and announce early general elections. The opposition leader, Lulzim Basha told the crowd of demonstrators, who had gathered in front of the prime minister’s office, that the opposition was the […]
Following Saturday’s violent clashes in the capital Tirana, opposition in Albania is getting ready for yet another big demonstration. The head of the main opposition party, Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha has launched a public call for people to join this anti-government demonstration. The democrat leader has also published a video, saying that nothing can stop […]
Chairman of the Democratic Party in Albania, Lulzim Basha had a meeting today with party senior figures to discuss about the date of the next protest that this party is expected to hold. According to sources from within the party, the opposition is expected to hold a demonstration on 11 May 2019 in the evening. […]
The European Commission knows about the Dutch parliament voting to suspend visa-free travel with Albania, but has received no request for suspension yet, the coordinating spokesperson for the commission said Wednesday. “There is a specific procedure that’s in place for the visa suspension mechanism, and to date, we have received no notifications from any member states requesting the visa suspension mechanism be triggered for any of the […]
Albanian opposition held a four hour protest on Saturday evening in the capital Tirana; a protest which was filled with tension and violence. Addressing his party faithful, who accompanied him at the party’s headquarters, opposition leader, Lulzim Basha said that “you have sealed Edi Rama’s departure as a non-negotiable condition for a transit government, which […]
The Albanian delegation, which is participating in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly session, taking place from 8 to 12 April in Strasbourg, has had a meeting with Croatian deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marija Mejcinovic Buric. During this meeting, the Croatian senior official has praised the reforms that Albania has launched and said […]
Opposition in Albania held another demonstration in front of the country’s parliament today where there were violent clashes between opposition’s supporters and the numerous police forces that were there to maintain order. Meanwhile, demonstrators also threw smoke bombs and other strong objects towards law enforcement officers. Police on the other hand used water cannons to […]
The European Commission is expected to recommend the launch of negotiations for the accession of Albania and North Macedonia in May. This was declared yesterday by EU Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn during the proceedings of the European Parliament Committee for Foreign Affairs. This meeting was considered to have a special importance because it was the […]
Gambling is a deadly disease. You can drink as much as you like, chase after women as much as you like, it all passes by, but gambling stays for good,” said a citizen of Skopje, worried about his son, who, as he admits, spent most of his time in casinos and sports betting offices. He […]
EU Enlargement Commissioner, Johannes Hahn declared today that he condemns the violent protests taken place in Albania and several other Balkan countries. He sent out a message for the countries of the region saying that “political changes can only happen through democratic processes”. According to Hahn, it’s not the EU’s job to say who should […]
