Dear Mr. Lentz,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

I would like to thank the ASPEN Institute Germany for the excellent cooperation it has established with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for giving me the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you tonight.

We had hoped to have a more informal chat in the outside terrace but the weather is not very Albanian-like this evening.

I had the pleasure to welcome today my German colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier with whom I had a very open and like-minded discussion.

If I had to define Germany’s role in this corner of Europe, I would say that it is a benevolent power and mentor, whose increasing engagement has shaped our region for the better.

We discussed about the importance of justice reform in Albania, a key element in our efforts to accelerate the EU accession process. We also examined at length the current regional security outlook and our expectations for the upcoming Paris summit.

Despite the incredible progress the Western Balkans have made in the past few years, especially in terms of normalisation and reconciliation, some countries of our region are still entangled in frozen democratic or state-building processes.

The Berlin process is essential precisely because of those crucial state-building processes and reforms still underway in our region.

The Berlin process was initiatied by Chancellor Merkel in 2014 as an effort to enhance the EU acession process in the Western Balkans by promoting and reinforcing successful cooperation trends. It is indeed our new incentive structure.

The aim is to accelerate the EU accession by turning our region into a true region, in political, economic and security terms.

There is a “genius of regional cooperation” at play in the Berlin process. It has been instrumental in building closer ties between the Western Balkan countries by providing political support and financial backing for many inter-connectivity projects in the field of infrastructure, energy, trade, employment and youth.

Albania has been at the forefront of such efforts. Because of our specific role as a pillar of stability in Adriatic Europe (I like this expression better than Western Balkans), we will continue to push for the removal of all obstacles to efficient regional cooperation as well as for full alignment with EU.

 

Dear guests,

We are all aware of the too many dividing lines currently at play in the EU: as BREXIT looms, there is also the refugee crisis and the euro crisis.

All those divisions affect the future of EU by constraining even further the EU’s capacity to act as a union. There is indeed a risk that this affects enlargement as well.

For the moment there is still a consensus on the Western Balkans EU perspective. This consensus is fragile and needs to be consolidated through success stories, through tangible results.

The refugee crisis and the joint fight against terrorism have made both the EU and the Western Balkans realize and experience first-hand how interdependent we have become.

It is now crucial to translate this interdependence into enhanced engagement with the Western Balkans.

Albania is in the last miles towards finalizing a deep and comprehensive Judicial reform, the cornerstone of our Rule of Law related reforms.

Judicial reform is important because of its impact on economic rule of law, on the fight against corruption, but also on the fight against terrorism and radicalism

We have benefitted from the expertise of the best national and international experts, including the Venice Commission, in a process that could easily become an example or blueprint for similar reforms in the region.

This is the reason why EU accession constitutes a powerful mechanism in the economic, political, social transformation, not only of Albania but of the entire Western Balkans, or Adriatic Europe, as I prefer to call it some time. (No offence for the Ionian sea).

If the region has no clear prospect of economic & social improvement, then we risk eroding our regional acquis as well as our experience of religious tolerance.

We have indeed a joint responsibility: on the one hand the countries of the region commit for a democratic future based on rule of law and on the other hand the EU member states commit to enhance their support for our region.

Thank you!