Prime Minister Edi Rama expressed on Tuesday the necessity of including the countries of the Western Balkans, in case of an eventual EU plan to support the countries in facing the energy crisis and the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
At the joint press conference in Tirana, with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and at the same time the Vice President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, Rama also stressed that the Corridor 8 project should be accelerated if possible, as part of the economic plan of investments, but which is already becoming strategic in terms of a security corridor.”
Borrel was in Tirana on Tuesday for talks with Albanian authorities in the frame of a Balkan tour.
“We talked about the necessity that if the EU will have a plan to support countries in coping with the energy crisis, which is the worst part of the crisis, and in dealing with the other consequences of the war, not to leave the Western Balkans out, as they left it when they made the first scheme of distributing vaccines,” said Rama.
The Prime Minister added that they discussed the great concern created by the war in Ukraine and all its consequences that have appeared in Europe and not only in Europe, initially in the form of rising prices.
“We have definitely discussed Albania’s role in the UN Security Council and Albania’s position on Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Rama said.
The Prime Minister informed that the further progress of Albania’s EU integration process, specifically for the formal opening of membership talks, was part of the discussion.
“Albania has chosen this position as its natural position and not because someone asked us in Brussels, Berlin, Paris, or even in Washington. We are proud members of a great alliance, such as NATO, and we are also proud Europeans for our European and Albanian being that we see the door of our future in Europe,” concluded Rama. /Argumentum.al
