Albania must keep European perspective

European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee calls for end of visa requirements for Albanian citizens until the end of 2010.

Albania should keep its European perspective as long as it undertakes further reforms to strengthen democracy and the rule of law, the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee said today in a Resolution. The Committee also called for an end to the visa requirement for Albanian citizens seeking to enter the EU until the end of the year, provided that all benchmarks are met. Albania therefore has to do more to combat organised crime and reform its judiciary.

"Despite all the domestic problems, Albania is on the good path. The EU must not leave the country on its own, but needs to send a clear signal to strengthen the reform process. This includes visa-free travel for Albanian citizens in order to strengthen the acceptance for democracy and the rule of law", the EPP Group Shadow Rapporteur Doris Pack MEP said. Pack welcomed the call of the Committee to strengthen exchange programmes in order to enable more Albanian students to study in the EU.

The Foreign Affairs Committee regretted the ongoing political crisis following the parliamentary elections of June 2009 and called on all parties to continue their dialogue, highlighting the position of the OSCE that the June 2009 elections were compatible with most international standards. A functioning parliament is the backbone of any democratic system, the Committee said. It called on the Albanian opposition to take its work in Parliament seriously, since changes in criminal law needed a 3/5 majority.