Dear Speaker, Dear Members of Parliament, Dear Ambassador,

It is my pleasure to be back in the Assembly for this important discussion on the role of the Parliament in the European Integration of Parliament.

Albania has made a big step on its EU integration path this year, with the start of the accession negotiations process in July, following by the screening process, which is well underway.

As I have repeated oftentimes, EU accession negotiations are far more than a mere technical process; this is a phase that requires a strong political leadership and mobilisation to pursue transformative reforms, at times difficult reforms, which are required to meet the tough EU membership criteria.

As perhaps the most political of all institutions, the Parliament plays a central role in advancing this process and bringing the country closer to EU membership.

I therefore welcome the Parliament’s intention to build on the current momentum to reflect on how it can play a meaningful role in this process.

There are many possible questions that the Parliament may want to look into, allow me to mention a few:

How can the Parliament best fulfil its central role of building a nation-wide and cross-party consensus on Albania’s EU accession path?

How can the parliament enhance its capacity and required expertise when it comes to the harmonisation of Albania’s laws with the EU acquis?

How can the parliament fully play its oversight role, by holding to account the government on the management of the country’s EU accession process?

How can the parliament push for key reforms that may be required to advance in the accession negotiations, in particular on the “fundamentals” such as rule of law, the fight against corruption, or key economic reforms?

Considering that much of the EU acquis has a direct impact on citizens and businesses: how can the parliament put in place meaningful consultation processes with stakeholders and civil society organisations on EU accession related issues?

When considering all of these issues, what can the Albania Parliament learn from other parliaments from previous or other EU candidate countries? What are the mechanisms that have proven to work well?

I am very curious to hear more about the ideas put forward in the papers to be presented today and I hope that they will provide useful food-for-thought for the members of parliament.

The EU Delegation will remain a close partner of the Albanian Assembly during this challenging path of joining the EU.

To conclude: Albanians have strong desire for Europe. I would like to call once again all representatives in parliament, government,  and representatives of the civil society and of businesses to unite forces and work together towards Albania’s EU accession.