Hungary role model for Albania, says Albanian PM

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.

Hungary has carried out the internal reform of its public administration system in “an exemplary way,” Edi Rama told a joint press conference.

He praised the structural transformation of the Hungarian government, adding that Hungary had started to create a society moving towards welfare within “a not too promising financial framework”.

Rama thanked Orbán for the unwavering support towards the Western Balkans. He also thanked the Hungarian EU presidency for its coordination work to move ahead with Albania’s EU integration process.

Rama noted that at their meeting two cooperation agreements had been signed in agriculture and public administration.

Orbán: Albania should be in EU long time ago

Albania should be in the European Union a long time ago, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in Budapest on Friday after meeting Albanian counterpart Edi Rama for talks.

Orbán said at a joint press conference that they had discussed the situation in Europe, the future of the Western Balkans and politics in Europe. The prime minister said that in recent years, he had received many insights from Rama that he could use also in Hungarian politics.

“We must now help our Albanian friends because the Western Balkans countries have been waiting for European Union accession on average for 15 years,” he said, noting that Albania had been waiting since 2009. Orbán said Europe had enough trouble, adding that the most obvious cure would be for the EU to finally allow the Western Balkans countries to join.

He said Albania had performed excellently during talks. If accession was a merit-based process, Albania should have been in the EU a long time ago, he said, adding that it was difficult to overcome the political animosity or cautiousness against enlargement.

An EU-Albania intergovernmental conference will be held in Luxembourg next Tuesday, where the first Albanian accession chapters will be opened, he said. Orbán said that he was proud that this was taking place during Hungary’s EU presidency.

Orbán said the last time the EU was getting enlarged was also during a Hungarian presidency. Hungary urges the EU to provide financial support to the Western Balkans countries in line with responsible neighbourhood policy as soon as possible, and it is not necessary to wait until membership is granted.

The prime minister said he and Rama had agreed to continue bilateral cooperation. Hungary welcomes Albanian business partners and is ready to expand its participation in the modernisation of that country’s economy, he said. The European Growth Facility and other instruments are available for this purpose, so that the countries can receive the financial support required for growth.

Regarding bilateral issues discussed at the talks, Orbán said Albania was a very important partner for Hungary, with Hungarian companies playing key roles in some key industries. He cited 4iG in the telecommunications market involved in the preparation of a large investment project to link Albania with Egypt by way of a telecommunications network.

Wizzair connects more than 50 cities and towns with Tirana, OTP won the best digital and business bank title in Albania this year, and the Budapest Water Works has received a key role in the modernisation of Tirana’s water network, Orbán said.

He said that he and Rama had agreed to continue bilateral cooperation. Hungary welcomes Albanian business partners and is ready to expand its participation in the modernisation of that country’s economy, he said.

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