Albania

The NATO-led intervention against Slobodan Milosevic’s regime and the then Serbian army was a historic decision, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said. He stressed that NATO’s intervention in 1999 was a necessary move as it protected the rights and the freedoms of Albanians in Kosovo.

Albanian President Bamir Topi said on Monday (March 22nd) that by removing existing visa barriers, Albania will be brought closer to the EU. Albania is undertaking a series of reforms, especially in its justice system, Topi said after meeting in Tirana with Eduard Kukan, head of the European Parliament (EP) …

Rapporteur for Albania Tanja Fajon said the European Parliament (EP) will be briefed on Tirana’s EU visa liberalisation process next month. As for the political stalemate that has slowed EU-related reforms, Fajon urged the ruling Democratic Party and the opposition Socialist Party on Sunday (March 21st) to stop damaging Albania’s …

Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said on Friday (March 19th) that the EU expects Kosovo to step up efforts to fight crime and corruption and strengthen the rule of law. After talks with Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and President Fatmir Sejdiu in Pristina, Fuele stressed the importance of guaranteeing political stability …

The Albanian government completed nine more chapters of the European Commission’s wide-ranging questionnaire Monday (March 15th), a requirement for Albania’s application for EU candidate status to be considered. This makes a total of 30 chapters completed, with five more to go. The government hopes to wrap those up by the …

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele is set to begin his first Western Balkans tour on Wednesday, with scheduled stops in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo.

Albania’s lawmakers passed a resolution Thursday calling on the EU member-states to scrap visa restriction for Albanian citizens. The motion was approved by unanimous vote. The opposition Socialist Party’s lawmakers also backed the resolution.

Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilir Meta launched on Thursday a two-day official visit to Serbia, where is expected to hold talks with Serbian President Boris Tadic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.

Members of the Party of European Socialists (PES) voiced their support Wednesday for efforts by Albania’s opposition Socialist Party (SP) to investigate the 2009 general elections. SP leader Edi Rama was in Strasbourg to meet with PES officials and senior European

KFOR has restored relations with the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) after almost a week of tension, the NATO-led force announced on Wednesday. KFOR suspended ties saying the KSF violated its status of an unarmed organisation by displaying weapons during an anniversary ceremony celebrating the Kosovo Albanian resistance against Serb forces. …