As part of his visit to the Western Balkans, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell visited Tirana, Albania on 15 March.

 During his meeting with Prime Minister Edi Rama, the High Representative stressed the strong EU-Albania relations and welcomed the country’s global engagement to preserve international security. He highlighted that it is high time to reinvigorate the enlargement process and integrate Albania and the whole Western Balkans in an irreversible manner into the European Union. “Albania met all the conditions for opening the accession negotiations and I strongly support, work, engage, and contribute to the start of the accession talks during the French Presidency”, the High Representative said. In a second meeting, where they were joined by the Minister for Energy Belinda Balluku, they discussed the global impact of the war against Ukraine including in regards to energy and economic consequences. 

The HRVP also met with Foreign Minister Olta Xhaçka. Albania is 100% aligned to the EU common foreign and security policy, the High Representative praised the country’s firm actions to defend the international order as a member of the UN Security Council. With Minister of Internal Affairs Bledi Çuçi and Deputy Minister of Defence Dallëndyshe Bici, Josep Borrell discussed current challenges in the field of cyber-security, disinformation and migration.

Together with Minister of Culture Elva Margariti, the High Representative visited the EU-funded restoration of the mosaic of the National Historical Museum, which were damaged by the 2019 earthquake. Cultural heritage is essential also for supporting tourism and socio-economic recovery.

Finally, High Representative Borrell engaged in discussions with representatives of civil society organisations, including journalists, fact-checkers, researchers and academics. The High Representative valued the work and dedication of his interlocutors stressing their crucial role in making Albania part of the European family. As the High Representative said: “We work together for a common future on a united continent.”