Kotzias, Kasoulides, Mitov and Bushati call EU for Albania and North Macedonia


A joint communiqué is signed by former Foreign Ministers, Albania’s Ditmir Bushati, Bulgaria’s Daniel Mitov, Greece’s Nikos Kotzias and Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, to begin without delay the European route of North Macedonia and Albania.

Joint communiqué:

“The European Commission presented its Communication on the 2019 EU enlargement policy with the accompanying Country Reports on 29 May. The European Commission reiterated recommendation to the Council to open accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia based on progress achieved and the timetable approved in June 2018 by the Council.

Despite being arguably the EU’s most successful transformational policy, never before has enlargement policy been the subject of so much ambivalence within the EU.

We call upon the member-states of the European Union to support the recommendations of the European Commission to open accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. The EU accession process gives multiple possibilities to enrich democracy and socioeconomic development, to secure the rights off all the people in each country. Through monitoring and screening, the EU shall both assist and act as a partner in this procedure.

The socioeconomic growth of Albania and North Macedonia in their path towards EU accession will decisively contribute to stability, security and the development of a democratic statehood, justice and freedom of press in both of these countries.

The need to launch the accession process for both countries corresponds to the demands of their societies, their history and the region. It corresponds, nonetheless, to the needs of the European Union itself. Their accession is not doing a favor to anyone but is enriching the European Project.

We call upon EU member states, and primarily the two big ones, Germany and France, to demonstrate their sense of responsibility for the future of the European Union and Europe and to live up to their promises. We call upon them to act responsibly and not postpone the European path for the two countries. It is in this context that the upcoming European Council of June should, without ado, set the date to start negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia”.

The former Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece

Ditmir Bushati, Daniel Mitov, Ioannis Kasoulidis and Nikos Kotzias

/ibna/