Albania

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. …

Albania has completed six more chapters of the questionnaire required by the European Commission, the Inter-ministerial Co-ordination Committee for European Integration announced on Thursday. The chapters are on the free movement of capital, information and media society, taxes, environment, financial control, and finances and budget. That makes a total of …

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb voiced support for Albania’s visa liberalisation process with the EU during a meeting with Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta in Helsinki on Wednesday. Stubb said his country backs Tirana’s effort to progress towards European integration, but stressed that reforms should continue. Meta said the visit “marks the …