Moore: “Territorial reform must be realized”

03/04/2014 00:00

In an interview for Top Channel before living Tirana, Jonathan Moore,
Director of South-Central European Affairs at the United States
Department of State declared that the Rama government had positive
results in some fronts.

“I think the developments are quite positive in a number of fronts. The government is getting more stabilized and doing more of its jobs. There are active lobbying efforts by the Prime Minister, the Parliament Speaker and the Foreign Minister for pushing forward Albania’s chances for the candidate status. The opposition is also working on that direction. We see Albania responding strongly as a US NATO ally regarding the illegal actions undertaken by Russia against the sovereign territory of Ukraine. Albania is a politically active country. This is an active political season, but the connection between Washington and Tirana is still very strong”, Moore declared.

Moore says Washington is impressed by Albania’s foreign policy.

“We are impressed by what we see in the foreign policy as the Ministry is getting more stabilized and getting more active in international affairs. Unfortunately, my visit doesn’t allow me to meet Foreign Minister Bushati, because he is very active and in diplomatic trips. There is work being done and I think this is very clear”, Moore added.

The June 23rd elections brought a new government in Albania, but the harsh rhetoric with the opposition is still present with several issues, such as the territorial reform, which you mentioned as very important. Everyone is looking a solution for this matter. What’s the view of the United States government for this situation?

“On the subject of the territorial reform, we have publicly declared ourselves as supporters of this effort, same as many other countries. Certainly, there is a number of reforms that should be implemented in Albania from higher government levels to local governments. It is important to have an open and practical national debate. The territorial reform is among those things that we want to see for a series of reasons. To reduce the resources that are being spent and also to improve the level of the local government response to the people. I repeat that the Albanian people is our highest priority. We need to see how things will go. It is important to discuss it publicly and to realize it publicly”, Moore declared.

There’s noi doubt that the United States have been great supporters of Albania in the path to European integration. After the European Council’s meeting in December, a new decision will be made in June for the candidate status. Do you think that the efforts that the Albanian government has taken so far are enough for a positive answer from Brussels this June?

“As you know, we are extremely interested in seeing Albania progress towards the European Union integration. We have no vote in this process. We are not members, we haven’t asked membership. We are optimistic that with further work from the government and with the support of the opposition, which shares the same goal for the European Union, the chances will be better in the near future for the candidate status. There is no guarantee about how the process will go. Regardless whether you receive a positive answer or not in June, it will be very important for the government and the opposition to work together for this important issue even for the remaining part of this year and beyond. Allow me to be sincere with you. I just  visited Brussels. There are 28 members in the European Union. There are people who are very optimistic, and people who are less. I think that one of the key messages that I have tried to share and for which our embassy in Tirana has been very consequent, is having as much work as possible from the government and the opposition alike, in every step of this path. Not only by lobbying in different capitals, but also by taking political decisions that need to be taken; by showing progress in the fight against corruption and in other steps through legal, not political mechanisms, in order to advance the chance for Albania to get a positive answer in June”, Moore declared.

Jonathan Moore rejects voices or theories about colder relations between the US after Albania rejected the Syrian chemical weapons.

“As a sovereign and independent country, a NATO ally, Albania decided to not accept the chemical weapons from Syria and we respect it. That decisions does not affect our mutual relations. They are getting stronger in many different levels”, Moore underlines.

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