TIRANA – The agreement of the Political Council on the Electoral Reform will provide further impetus for Albania’s path towards the European Union (EU), the German Ambassador to Tirana, Peter Zingraf has said.
“I am glad that Albanian political stakeholders have been able to reach a consensus. The constructive implementation of the agreed measures will be another important milestone on the path of reforms in Albania,” Ambassador Zingraf said as quoted by ATA on Monday.
“The country needs a constructive spirit and awareness in terms of responsibilities, in order to meet the set requirements before the next stages in the light of EU membership talks,” Zingraf said. “The establishment of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court remain important conditions from the German point of view, which must be met ahead of the EU membership,” he stressed.
Albanian political parties reached a long-sought consensus on the electoral reform on June 5 this year aimed at guaranteeing free and fair elections and considered a key condition to start accession negotiations with the European Union.
After failing to conclude an agreement by the May 31 deadline that had been set by the political parties, two days of meetings of the main political actors were held at the residence of US Ambassador Yuri Kim, facilitating the dialogue together with her EU and British counterpart.
Ruling Socialist Party (SP) has undertaken a quick step after the signing of the agreement on the Electoral Reform with the opposition by proposing May 9, 2021 as the date of the general elections in Albania. This proposal was made public by the head of the SP parliamentary group, Taulant Balla on Monday, and it is addressed to President Ilir Meta. /argumentum.al
