Your Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for welcoming me today and for giving me the opportunity to share some thoughts on the challenges that we currently face in the Western Balkans.

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII. Unfortunately, as we celebrate this anniversary, the question of war and peace in Europe has become once more a prominent and current issue.

A tremendous amount of efforts were spent during these 70 years in building an international order based on international law.

Nowadays, European security, is being threatened by state and non-state actors in the East and South. As a consequence the project of a Europe whole and free becomes even more pressing as security, energy, and humanitarian challenges are looming.

This is not an introduction on a future doom scenario, rather a remark on the current debate that revolves around key security issues. Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, religious extremism, global pandemics, climate change have become key concerns, demanding that our joint efforts be directed towards these issues.

Compared to the above-mentioned topics, the Western Balkan countries certainly seem to have become rather boring places.  In a way this is very good news!

Geographically the Western Balkans countries are European: the EU surrounds us.Politically, our countries have all one common goal – becoming EU member states.

This has created a regional solidarity that cannot be underestimated. For a region that has had a troubled past, this is a great achievement. But, the facts on the ground tell also another story.

It is particularly telling to watch closely three indicators for the period 2003 – 2011 (a period of considerable economic growth just before the Eurozone crises fully exploded).

If you compare GDP, Gross National Income (GNI) and the growth for annual exports for goods and services per capita, from 2003 to 2011, it is obvious that the WB countries have remained poorer compared not only to other EU member states but also to other Balkan countries that have since joined EU.

This means that our region is not only diverse in terms of economic development, but that the EU integration process still reflects realities of the past century.

Try to compare Czechoslovakia and the Balkans in the interwar period. Whilst your country saw the flowering of democracy, economic growth and industrial strengthening, the Balkans were making their first state-building efforts, whilst trying to move away from the bad influences of the fallen Empires of 19th century Europe.

One might argue that, unfortunately, the gap that existed in the interwar period is still persistent today. This is why the EU integration process in the Western Balkans must be guided by the necessity to close existing development gaps in our region.

In such a context I cannot help noticing today’s paradoxical discourse on the European Union:

– In the Member States, the debate about the EU is all about fiscal consolidation, public expenditure, unemployment, immigration and weather the EU made the right call when it accepted this or that new member state to join the club;

– Seen from the outside, the EU remains the most appealing model for peace, democratic stability, social well-being and economic success.

The European project, is indeed experiencing a test of endurance which has only two outcomes. Further integration or stagnation. In addition to that, the rhetoric on Europe has also been changing, now including: enlargement fatigue, Grexit, Brexit, West – East and North – South divisions.

Meanwhile, anti-EU platforms are gaining terrain and Islamophobia is playing in the hands of populist parties.  Where does this leave the Western Balkans?

Integrating the Western Balkans is vital for the EU. From a security point of view, it means securing the Southeastern flank where important energy routes are being built. Economically speaking these energy routes would provide much needed diversification. And energy lies at the heart of the European project. That is how it all started.

But, to come back to the above-mentioned paradox and the existing economic gaps, it seems that EU integration and regional cooperation can succeed only if the Western Balkans becomes a true region politically, economically and from a security standpoint.

The Ukraine crisis showed that the Brussels-inspired solidarity has its limits when conflicting national interests and agendas come into play. Albania has a record of 100% alignment with the EU in foreign policy; not all in the Western Balkans do. This means that we are not yet and we still do not act as a true region.

The region is an unfinished project security wise. Albania is a member of NATO, three other neighboring countries are NATO aspirants (Montenegro, Macedonia and B-H), Serbia has signed IPAP, while Kosovo is yet to establish structured institutional relations with the Alliance.

The WB is still a patchwork of frozen disagreements inherited from a very recent past.   If you add to this the fact that security challenges are only two hours away in the East and South, then it becomes clear why the region needs reassurances and responsibility sharing.

Albania has carried its own share of the burden when it comes to participating in the global fight against ISIL: our continuous aid and equipment provided to the government of Iraq and eventually to the Peshmerga fighters shows that a small country from the Western Balkans can become a security contributor provided that there is enough geo-strategic reassurance from key allies.

Another example that shows how our region can take the lead on wider geostrategic issues is the recent enhanced cooperation against the “foreign fighters phenomenon.

This was recently highlighted by the declaration of the South East European countries on the fight against terrorism, signed in Tirana in the framework of the Albanian chairmanship of SEECP.

Furthermore, the crisis in Ukraine underlines the importance of strategic energy projects, such as TAP and its Ionian branch IAP both for energy efficiency and diversification, and also for the creation of a regional integrated market, in full compliance with EU rules and standards.

Ensuring energy supply and developing the economy of the region is more and more dependent on the development of energy networks and regional infrastructure.

I believe that a better-integrated region would accelerate all-inclusive growth and narrow the gap between the countries that are more advanced in the EU integration process and those who are behind.

Peace and democratic stability in our region can be transformed into a narrative of social well-being and economic success only through new instruments that the region is actively seeking from the EU.

In this context, we are grateful for the constant support and steering of the Visegrad countries. One practical output of the Visegrad-Western Balkans cooperation has been the creation of the Western Balkans Fund, which is to be launched soon in Tirana.

In a similar fashion Albania has been playing its part in strengthening regional integration instruments by constantly supporting and promoting the “Berlin process” with a view to increase connectivity and to help translate the EU accession process into a tangible agenda of sustainable development for our region.

Regional interconnectivity can help release the growth potential that comes with geographical proximity.  This is particularly true of Adriatic Europe, where existing synergies must be used to reduce distances and integrate markets in order to help increase the levels of income in the wider Adriatic area.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We view our EU accession process as THE ONLY realistic and viable process.

We welcome the recent positive evaluations of the European Commission on Albania’s track record and remain strongly committed on the fulfillment of the five key priorities for the opening of accession negotiations with the EU.

Accession negotiations are an opportunity to better focus on what is to be done, particularly in relation to the rule of law, through the benchmarks for chapters 23 and 24 and to beef up regional cooperation in this area.

As far as the Western Balkans is concerned, a tangible and credible EU integration process is an irreplaceable support for both domestic reforms and regional cooperation and stability.

The Berlin Conference set in motion a process that aims to generate tangible benefits for our citizens out of EU integration and regional cooperation, whilst putting at the very center of these processes economic rule of law and sustainable flagship projects.

We thank the European Commission for taking the initiative of proposing and discussing with us a Western Balkans core infrastructure network that will link the region’s capitals, economic centers and main ports, ultimately connecting the EU with itself.

These projects will allow us to concentrate investments on key areas that will transform the Western Balkans into a true region.  Our only hope is that this becomes a reality sooner rather than later.

In this context, we seek more than ever the support of the Czech Republic as well as of the other Visegrad 4, as shining and unquestioned examples of what the EU accession process can achieve in a short timeframe.

Thank you for your attention!