The stance of the United Kingdom on Albania’s European Union candidate
status seems more positive than in December 2013. During a press
conference held in Brussels, after the Council meeting of this Tuesday,
the Minister for European Matters, David Lidington, unfolded five
priorities that Britain thinks should be the focus of the next European
Commission. Although the enlargement policy was not included in these
priorities, Lidington declared that they support this project, since it
encourages peace and stability in Balkan.
When asked why the Great Britain hesitated in December for the candidate status, and what will be the stance in June, he answered:
“Our stance in December was that the Rama government had been in power only for a few weeks, and we thought that it was too early to judge their work. But when I visited Albania recently, I was impressed by what has been done by this government in very difficult political and economic circumstances. I am encouraged with this progress, and we will return to the status issue later in June”, declared David Lidington, UK Minister for European Matters.
Great Britain, Germany, France, Netherlands and Denmark shared the same stance in the December Council. Diplomatic sources say for Top Channel that Germany is expected to have a more positive stance in June, considering the positive evaluation of the Commission, and that Hague is expected to follow the stance of Berlin after the May 25th elections.
Only France remains skeptical, while Denmark is expected to give consensus for the candidate status in June.
Top Channel
