“You have worked so hard to get here and have shown so much lasting commitment to our values,” said von der Leyen addressing the premiers of Albania and North Macedonia, Edi Rama and Dimitar Kovacevski, during a statement to the press. “You have demonstrated resilience and maintained the belief that the accession process strengthens the rule of law. You have fought against corruption, you have free media, a vibrant civil society, you have made countless reforms and modernized your economies. You have made all these changes. only because they were necessary for your transition to the European Union, but above all because they are good for your countries and are already offering a better quality of life to your peoples “.
“The European Commission has supported you all the way and we will continue to do so,” added von der Leyen, announcing that “immediately after today’s intergovernmental conference the Commission and the negotiating teams of North Macedonia and Albanian will start working”. “The screening of the EU acquis will start”, and “we will proceed very quickly”.
Von del Leyen he then stressed that “we will continue to get closer in key areas. For example, Albania will now join the EU civil protection mechanism” and “this will strengthen Albania’s resilience to natural disasters such as floods or forest fires or earthquakes “. North Macedonia will very soon negotiate the Frontex agreement with us “, and this” will strengthen our cooperation on migration “:” Dimitar (Kovacevski), you can count on my support to ensure that the agreement is translated into Macedonian language, “added von der Leyenreferring to a sensitive topic for Skopje: “No footnotes, no asterisks, on an equal footing with all 24 European languages”.
“The benefits will increase as the negotiations move forward, there will be an increase in investment, there will be better trade links, there will be closer collaboration in key sectors, such as energy or transport.”
To the leader of North Macedonia Kovacevski von der leyen he said, “He showed so much leadership, so much vision, he showed strategic patience.” To the leader of Albania Rama: “Not only but above all in these difficult times of the brutal Russian war, he has demonstrated over and over again his attachment to European values”. |
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