Orbán: Shameful how EU enlargement advancing so slowly
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Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Tirana on Friday called it “unacceptable and shameful” that European Union enlargement was advancing so slowly.
After meeting Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama during his official visit to Albania, Orbán said it had taken Albania 13 years get on the accession negotiating track with the EU.
It is only in the Balkans that Europe will find new impetus for economic growth and maintaining its competitiveness, he said, calling for the integration of the region to be speeded up. Hungary “strongly supports” Albania’s accession process, he added.
Orbán said there was serious restructuring going on in the global economy which highlighted Europe’s weaknesses, and the continent was becoming less competitive at the global level. This is a reason to create the conditions for Albania and the Western Balkan region’s integration, he said, adding that it was central Europe that was currently sustaining the EU’s dynamism.
Europe needs to be strengthened both in terms of its economy and security, the prime minister said.
But western Europe remains unconvinced that enlargement promotes integration, so “there is more work to do” in the interest of Albania’s EU membership as well, Orbán said.
Hungary supports the idea that by 2030, EU cohesion funds should proportionally be at the level of the funding received by older member states, he said. Hungary’s government has also welcomed the proposal that a country should not necessarily have to be an EU member in order to join the bloc’s passport-free Schengen zone, he added.
During his visit to Tirana, Orbán also held talks with Albania’s Speaker of Parliament Lindita Nikolla.
Just a quick googling reveals that Albania has a massive corruption problem. Such country should not be allowed to join EU until they have sorted out their corruption problems with strict legislation and independent anti-corruption measures. We have already enough problems with countries with high corruption level.
I have to ask this question. As much as Hungary is treated like the redheaded stepchild by Brussels I wanna ask Why do Orban and Fidesz try to encourage others to join the train wreck called The European Union? If I were the leader of any non EU nation I would be looking at how the EU treats Hungary and say No to joining the EU with its unelected bureaucrats dictating how the member states should act.