TIRANA, June 23 – Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Thursday that he deeply regrets the behavior of the European Union, saying that the reason why there is no European involvement is not only Bulgaria, “it is a shame”, but the fraudulent spirit of enlargement.
Rama made that bitter comment as the joint summit of the six Western Balkan countries with EU leaders failed to give the green light to launching accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia due to Bulgaria’s persistent veto against Skopje. So everything is put on hold again after more than two years which has frustrated both Tirana and Skopje.
Representatives from Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo all flew to Brussels to meet their European counterparts although ahead of the summit, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama blasted EU leaders for the delay hinting he would not attend the summit. But he withdrew as other leaders of Serbia and North Macedonia did.
“You are a mess guys, you are a big mess and you are a disgrace and I think it’s a shame that a NATO country kidnaps two other NATO countries while in the backyard of Europe there is a hot war and of course, it’s not good to see that 26 other countries sit still in a scary show of impotence,” Rama said.
“Nice place, nice people, nice words, nice pictures and just imagine how much nicer it would be if nice promises were followed by nice delivery…” Rama tweeted after the meeting on Thursday.
“But we Albanians are not as nice as to give up nicely! So we will keep going and working even harder to make Albania a nice EU member,” he said.
There had been some hope that there could be movement in Bulgaria after opposition leader Boyko Borissov appeared ready to proceed with opening accession negotiations.
But Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who led the shift in the government’s position, called Borissov the “most dishonest person I know” on Thursday upon arriving for the European Council summit.
“He tells in the morning ‘I want to support North Macedonia’s entrance into the EU’ which is a great position [and] at the same time he blocks the committee in the parliament the same afternoon,” Petkov said.
European Council President Charles Michel said he was watching “closely” the developments in Bulgaria and said it was a “top priority” to start negotiations with both Albania and North Macedonia.
Despite being long ago promised a European perspective, the Western Balkans have seen their EU bids hit a wall, with dwindling prospects of a significant breakthrough.
As the bloc moves with record speed to grant Ukraine and Moldova candidate status to join the EU, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged his fellow EU leaders to re-invigorate the integration of the Balkans and curb Russian influence across the region.
“The most important (thing) is that the states from Western Balkans will have a good opportunity to become real members of the European Union,” said Scholz ahead of the joint meeting on Thursday. “They’ve worked so hard, so it’s our common task that something will happen.”
Although it was planned, the press conference of the EU after a meeting with Western Balkan leaders was cancelled.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell spoke after the summit and expressed his disappointment over a lack of progress.
“Today, we should be launching negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, and I cannot hide my disappointment. My disappointment is that of many people,” said Borrel after the meeting, Exit. Albania reported.
In the meantime Kosovo will not receive visa liberalization and has no candidate status for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, whose country does not enjoy the Schengen visa-free regime, said peace and stability in Europe are inconceivable without integrating Western Balkan nations.
After the meeting with EU leaders, the press conference was held by the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia, gathered around the Open Balkans initiative. The three did not hide their disappointment with the lack of progress when it came to the European integration of the region.
The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitri Kovacevski, stated on Thursday that at the summit, the Western Balkans and the European Union pointed out that his country has been a candidate for EU membership for almost 18 years and that he is dissatisfied with bilateral issues becoming a multilateral problem.
“Russian aggression is a threat to all countries in the region, and enlargement should be understood as a necessity and investment in European security,” Kovačevski said, emphasizing dissatisfaction with accession dynamics. What is happening is a serious problem and a blow to the EU’s credibility.
He thanked French President Emanuel Macron for the proposal for the region’s countries. Still, the current one is unacceptable for North Macedonia, citing some conditions that should be included in the negotiating framework.
The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, stated, “I told them that when they say that Vladimir Putin is ill, that he may be ill, but that this place does not look very healthy either,” Rama stressed, noting that Kosovo citizens are not allowed to roam freely in Europe.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić attacked the media for reporting on Serbia’s hesitance and, in some cases, refusal to enforce EU sanctions.
“2629 articles in the European media about Serbia after the Russian invasion… about Serbia jeopardizing a whole region, Bosnia, Kosovo, or so-called Kosovo or whatever you want to call it. Have you ever seen a single apology from these media,” asked Aleksandar Vučić.
According to Exit. Vučić stated that the Open Balkans initiative was an idea between the three countries and was not subject to any external influence, specifically denying pressure from Russia or Hungary.
“We did it by ourselves; we did not need anyone else. Three Balkan nations sat together and found a solution for some of their problems. Is this forbidden? Should it be banned?” said Vučić.He said that while he doesn’t share the same frustrations as Albania and North Macedonia, he hopes for a resolution of the problematic situation.
“They are defending their countries and national interests in a very courageous way…all of us will be in a much better mood in December than today,” he concluded, nodding to the next summit scheduled for the end of the year. /Argumentum.al
