Progress-report: Stano: We are taking notes

In an interview for Top Channel, Peter Stano says that the Commission has taken notes about the Central Bank Governor issue.

“Many things have happened in the past months. We took notes about the Bank of Albania matter and we are following it closely, but we don’t comment about matters that are under investigation. Albania needs to implement the judiciary reform, the rule of law, the public administration reform. These are important issues for which the government must continue its efforts for intensifying the reforms, as we have said several times. We have established a high-level dialogue forum, in which we regularly discuss these issues. The recent round was in June, and the next round will be held later this month. It is important for us to see that the government is doing efforts to reform the country in some areas and reach results with the reforms. The most important thing is that citizens see these results and how the necessary reforms are implemented”, Stano declared.

Stefan Fule will visit Tirana on September 29th, for the last time as Commissioner for Enlargement. This visit will be part of the high-rank dialogue for the five key criteria that started one year ago as the forum that should encourage political dialogue.

“In every mature and democratic society, Parliament is the forum for exchanging views, for discussing matters and finding solutions. We have been explaining it for years to our Albanian partners that they need constructive dialogue and commitment. Everyone should be aware of the responsibility to push the country forward in this democratic process. The government needs to be aware that the reform process is all-inclusive and stable, and constructive dialogue is important for this. The same goes for the opposition. They need to progress towards constructive dialogue, if they want to achieve something. They need to put the country’s interest above those of the party, because Parliament is the forum where opinions are exchanged for finding solutions in a democratic society”, Stano underlined.

As for the mandate of the next commission for opening membership negotiations with Albania, Stano explained that when the country will be ready, the member countries will mandate the European executive for starting the dialogue.

“I cannot speak about the new commission that will undergo a voting process at the European Parliament. I can say that there is a clear EU policy that is called Enlargement, and that is one of the key and most successful policies for the EU. It is the policy through which the member countries have constantly expressed their commitment to the EU, and the process continued based on the merits and performance of every country, because it is a trusted process. You deliver on the commitment and the criteria set by the EU, and the EU delivers on the promises that are made. If the country fulfills the criteria for the candidate status, the country will receive the candidate status, as it happened last June with Albania. If the country delivers for the negotiations, then it will be a matter of credibility for the EU to open the negotiations with this country. What will happen next year with the new Commission will largely depend on what Albania will deliver. After receiving the candidate status, the country must focus its efforts and energy to start the negotiations. Then, the member countries will decide that the time has come to make the Commission start the negotiations”, Stano declared.

Top Channel