Albania is one the countries that has achieved the greatest progress in the Western Balkans and the European Union must recognise this – MFA Deputy State Secretary Szabolcs Takács told Hungarian news agency MTI during his trip to Albania.

The Deputy State Secretary and Political Director visited Albania in the company of his Czech, Polish and Slovak colleagues representing the Visegrád countries, where they met – among others – with Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati and the heads of the Albanian legislature's European Integration and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Following the talks, Szabolcs Takács revealed that the visit was initiated and organised by Hungary, the current president of the Visegrád-group (V4). The Visegrád-countries agreed that discussions with Albania were important to reviewing the situation of the country, especially in light of the elections held in summer and the new government that has been in office since September, although the Albanian Foreign Minister has already attended an October meeting of V4 Foreign Ministers and Western Balkans countries in Gödöllő, he recalled.

He pointed out that the V4 countries had already reiterated their support for the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans at the Gödöllő conference. In the case of Albania, they urge for closer EU-Albanian relations, as Albania is the only country in the region, which is already a member of NATO but not the EU – he noted.

The Deputy State Secretary also mentioned that in October, the European Commission assessed the performance of countries wishing to join the community and suggested that the European Council grant candidate status to Albania at its meeting in December. The Visegrád countries were all of the opinion that Albania should receive candidate status in recognition of the significant progress it has achieved since 1990, he pointed out. He added that it would strengthen the credibility of the EU if it also emphasised these achievements instead of only concentrating on what other criteria Albania still has to comply with.

Szabolcs Takács emphasised that the status of Albanian communities within the Western Balkan region is important for Albania. With regard to Slovakia not recognizing the independence of Kosovo, he said that the Visegrád partners were unified in their opinion that dialogue between Belgrade and Kosovo must be supported and that Albania also agreed with this. All five countries appreciated the fact that the leaders of both Serbia and Kosovo are committed to European integration, the Deputy State Secretary said.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)