Albania signs SAA with EU

21 February 2006

Last Saturday, 18 February, Albania signed February the technical part of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso visited Tirana for talks with Albanian Foreign Minister Besnik Mustafaj on Albania's progress toward greater integration into the European Union.

The signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement is seen as the first step on the path to EU membership. Barroso is accompanied by EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.

The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso held meetings with high ranking state officials and deputies of Albanian Assembly. Barroso considered the signing of the Agreement as a historical moment for the integration of our country in European structures, stressing the real work starts now.

He said Albania should show high performance during the agreement's implementation to further approach the EU, as well as should show concrete results in the enforcement of all legal package and its aspects.

The European Union President also stressed the government-opposition collaboration is chiefly important for Albania's integration, while estimated the performance of all governments that have contributed in this Agreement.

The EU has told Albania that it must increase media freedom, ensure the independence of the judiciary, enforce property rights and take more effective measures to end corruption if it wants closer ties with the 25-member bloc.

Not later than 5 hours of signing the SAA the police in Lushnja violated the journalist of the newspaper "Gazeta Shqiptare" and the TV "News 24", Gerti Xhaja during a routing control. The reaction of all medias and Government Institutions including the president Moisiu was immediate asking the judgment of perpetrators.