NATO chiefs have hit out against what it calls the “malicious” cyber activities against Albania. The comments came with a strongly worded statement aimed at countering the outbreak. The statement reads: “We stand in solidarity with Albania following the recent cyber attack on its national information infrastructure. “Allies acknowledge the statements by Albania and other Allies attributing…
The European Parliament wants member states to immediately start negotiation talks with North Macedonia and Albania. Despite the fact that these two Western Balkan countries have fulfilled all the requested conditions a long time ago, the European Council has not been able to schedule the first Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). The Socialists and Democrats have always been…
EU action has had little impact in advancing fundamental rule of law reforms in the Western Balkans, according to a special report published by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). Some technical and operational reforms have taken place in the region. But in a context of insufficient political will and a lack of engagement, EU…
After three days of a fact-finding mission in Albania, the European Parliament’s standing rapporteur for the country, Isabel Santos MEP underlined that the country has fulfilled all the criteria and has done everything that it was requested to do, to start accession negotiations with the European Union. Santos called on the member states to finally…
Four journalists were arrested on 11 December and 12 December while covering protests against the murder of Klodjan Rasha, a 25 years-old Albanian citizen, in Tirana. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its affiliate, the Association of Professional Journalists of Albania (APJA) strongly condemn the harassment and arbitrary…
Early parliamentary elections took place in North Macedonia on 15 July, in the challenging context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a public statement Josep Borrell the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy has commended North Macedonia’s citizens for exercising their right to vote. The EEAS reported that according to the preliminary findings and…
The European Parliament has approved €3 billion in loans to help EU neighbours and partner countries deal with the fallout of COVID-19. The loans, which will be given on highly favourable terms and disbursed over a year, will help the following ten countries whose economies have been pushed into recession by the pandemic. The are:…
Michael Gahler MEP, EPP Group Spokesman for Foreign Affairs, has issued a statement ahead of today’s EU-Western Balkans summit which takes place in the form of a video conference. He said, “Do not lose sight of the geopolitical consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Western Balkans must not fall into the Russian disinformation trap. The…
The Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, delegation chairs and standing rapporteurs for the Balkan countries confirm the EU’s commitment to continue transforming the region. In a joint statement, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister MEP, the standing rapporteurs and the chairs of delegations of the European Parliament for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,…
Following debate in the EP Foreign Affairs Committee this afternoon, the Picula Report was adopted and its key recommendations agreed. These include the requirement for the EU to ensure that its enlargement methodology supports reforms and sustains fully-fledged membership as the final goal for accession countries. The report was adopted with 58 votes for, 7 against…
