site.btaParliament: "Bulgaria Is Staunch Supporter of Albania's EU Integration"

September 17 (BTA) - Bulgaria is a staunch supporter of
Albania's EU integration and believes that it should soon get a
date for starting accession negotiations. This position was
expressed by Bulgarian National Assembly Foreign Policy
Committee Chair Dzhema Grozdanova as she conferred here on
Tuesday with a delegation of the Albanian Parliament's Foreign
Policy Committee led by its Chair Mimi Kodheli, which is paying
an official visit to Bulgaria on September 17 and 18.

Grozdanova said, quoted by the National Assembly in a press
release, that Bulgaria encourages Albania to press ahead with
the reforms it has started in five key areas: public
administration, judicial reform, human rights, and fight against
 corruption and organized crime.

"The recognition of a Bulgarian national minority showed
Albania's readiness to meet the criteria for a start of the
negotiating process with the EU," Grozdanova further said. She
added that Sofia also takes a positive view of Tirana's efforts
to reform its judiciary and achieve sustainable results in
combatting organized crime and corruption.

"Bulgaria firmly supports the start of EU accession talks with
Albania and with North Macedonia in October 2019," said
Grozdanova.

Kodheli thanked Bulgaria for its support and for the fact that
it was during Bulgaria's EU Council Presidency that EU
enlargement was put on the agenda.

"Europe needs us, Albania's accession to the EU will contribute
to greater security and stability of the Union at large," the
guest pointed out.

Conferring with the Albanian parliamentarians, National Assembly
 Deputy Chairman Kristian Vigenin said that all parties
represented in the Bulgarian Parliament concur in their desire
that the Western Balkan countries should join the EU.

He argued that the crisis of confidence in the EU institutions
has largely been overcome, and this is a good sign for the
Western Balkans. 

Albania's European perspective topped the agenda of a meeting of
 the guests with the leadership of the Committee on European
Affairs and Oversight of European Funds. Kodheli said that her
country feels as a part of Europe but has a lot more to learn
from the European democracies. "We have to fulfill the accession
 criteria. We have undertaken reforms in the judiciary and in
combatting corruption, which means that we are on the right
path," the Albanian MP said. 

She also met conferred with Defence Committee Chairman
Konstantin Popov. They discussed the development of European
security and the security of the Western Balkans. General Popov
said that the current volatility on the international stage
requires an in-depth and adequate handling of defence and the
armed forces. He added that Bulgaria is closely following these
processes and is making substantial efforts to procure the
requisite financial support for the defence sector.

The delegation is also scheduled to confer with Foreign Minister
 Ekaterina Zaharieva and, on September 18, with Defence Minister
 Krassimir Karakachanov. RY/LN

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