Hungarian Foreign Minister: EU opens first stage of Albania accession negotiations – UPDATE

The European Union has opened the first chapters of Albania’s accession negotiations, paving the way for a swift process ensuring the country’s membership, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said in Luxembourg, where he attended the second intergovernmental EU-Albania conference.

Tuesday’s accession conference is the second held between the EU and Albania since it became a candidate country in 2014.

“This is historic,” he declared, noting that speeding up the EU integration of Western Balkan countries is a priority of the Hungarian EU presidency.

He said the bloc needed new momentum, which Western Balkan countries could provide.

“Urgent action is needed to preserve the credibility of the enlargement policy, so we must speed up enlargement procedures,” the minister added.

As we wrote on Friday, Albania views Hungary as a role model, the country’s prime minister said in Budapest after meeting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for talks on Friday. Details HERE.

UPDATE

Most member states want merit-based enlargement, he said, adding that Albania’s merits in terms of the economy, politics and social issues were clear for all to see.

Szijjártó called it an “honour” that substantive negotiations with Albania have begun under the Hungarian presidency, adding that hopefully “we won’t have to wait until the next Hungarian presidency” before another country was able to join the EU.

He said Hungary pursued a responsible neighbourhood policy, adding that he was sharply aware of how the integration process could foster “peace, calm, developments and stability” in the region.

Olivér Várhelyi, the EU commissioner for enlargement and neighbourhood policy, told the same press conference that the EU and Albania were celebrating a “landmark moment” and the path of meaningful negotiations ahead was clear.

He added that thanks to Hungary’s presidency, it was now doubtless that enlargement was among the three key priorities for the EU and its leaders.