Albania Submits Completed EU Questionnaire

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced on Tuesday that the government had filed the EU questionnaire on the country’s readiness to join the bloc.

“We hope to receive an objective evaluation from those who review it,” Berisha said during a cabinet meeting.

The Albanian premier used the occasion to invite the opposition to contribute to the country’s EU accession process.

“I call on the opposition to contribute with all its potential to the country’s [EU] integration process,” Berisha added.

The 384 page document, which includes over 2,200 questions, is considered an important formal step on Albania’s road to the EU.

The completion of the questionnaire has required the involvement of all of the Albanian public administration in the last three months, including government agencies and the judiciary.

Albania received the 35 chapter questionnaire in mid-December; it was handed directly to Berisha by the head of the EU delegation in Tirana, Helmut Lohan.