TIRANA, Nov 10 /ATA/ – The European Union should adopt a new political approach to enlargement and bring candidate countries negotiating membership directly to the table, while preserving the principle of merit-based accession, Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Paris Peace Forum, Rama discussed Albania’s EU prospects, Ukraine’s accession bid and the future of the bloc, arguing that membership negotiations were essential for strengthening institutions and state-building in countries such as Albania.
Asked whether discussions about fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU membership could amount to an exception to the bloc’s accession rules, Rama dismissed the idea but said Kyiv deserved recognition for its contribution to European security.
“First of all, this exception is a lie. Anyone who says it is lying, because it is not happening. Secondly, I believe Ukraine deserves full credit because it is fighting not only for itself but also for Europe and the European way of life,” he said.
Rama said four countries were currently at the forefront of the EU enlargement process: Albania, Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova.
He described EU accession as particularly important for countries with limited traditions of statehood and institutional development.
“The accession process is the best thing that can happen to countries like ours. We are not France, which has been a state for a very long time. We come from a very dark past and have a limited, if not virtually non-existent, tradition of statehood and institutions that hold a country together. The European Union is therefore a blessing, as it provides us with the tools to build our institutions and our state,” Rama said.
He added that the process was lengthy but necessary, warning candidate countries against wasting the opportunity or advancing without being adequately prepared.
Turning to the future of enlargement, Rama called on the EU to find what he described as its own “Helmut Kohl moment”, referring to the former German chancellor’s role in German reunification.
“When Helmut Kohl went to the fallen Berlin Wall, he did not tell East Germans: ‘You are now free, but there are 33 chapters you have to complete.’ Instead, he told them: ‘You are free; we are now together.’ The institutions were then gradually brought together,” Rama said.
He proposed that the seven countries currently negotiating EU membership should be brought directly into the bloc’s political discussions, without abandoning the existing accession criteria.
“The European Union should bring these seven negotiating countries to the table,” he said.
Each candidate country should continue to meet its obligations and advance through the merit-based process, Rama added, but should also be included in political discussions at EU level.
“If you want to get more from the table, you have to give more through the merit-based process. Politically, however, this is the way to change the paradigm of endless processes and vetoes,” he said.
Rama said he was uncertain whether the proposal would be adopted but believed it was the right approach.
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