TIRANA, November 11 /ATSH/ –Speaking today at an event in Dublin organized by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) – themed “Albania’s European Journey: From Aspiration to Integration” – Prime Minister Edi Rama highlighted the importance of gradual integration. He described this approach as a way to bridge the economic and financial gap between candidate countries and EU member states.
“Gradual integration is something I have personally advocated for a long time—well before it took its current shape—working alongside other colleagues to give real meaning to the entire process. While countries must undergo a merit-based process and do their own work, the gap between candidate countries and member states—in terms of finance, the economy, integration into the common market, and so on—continues to widen,” said Rama.
The Growth Plan represents a concrete manifestation of this approach, Rama noted, as it offers candidate countries greater opportunities to move closer to the common market and the European economy, even before full membership is achieved. “So, moving away from an ‘all-or-nothing’ scenario toward one where countries are accepted and integrated gradually is the right approach—and this is what the Growth Plan embodies. The Growth Plan is part of this approach; while I believe more can and should be done, it is still an improvement over the previous situation, which offered nothing but ‘homework’ assignments with no incentives whatsoever,” he said. /m.q/r.e/p.s./
