Tirana – I no longer see any substance if bilateral problems and bilateral disputes are what determine whether countries should become full members within the EU. For me, the essence I see is delivery, reforms, the steps that are being fulfilled. And as long as it is based on the delivery system, then absolutely we as a state will be competitive and I am convinced that we will be the ones who reach the final goal first, said Prime Minister Christian Mitskoski today in Tirana, responding to a journalist’s question.
– We have been in this process long enough, more than 25 years, 20 years since we became a candidate country, and really what we have experienced along the way, I would not wish for anyone else to experience. But it is obvious that once you establish an exception as a rule, it becomes a rule and then other member countries can invoke that exception which has been previously established and it can grow into a rule. So I really do not see any more substance if bilateral problems and bilateral disputes are what determine whether countries should become full members within the EU. For me, the essence I see is delivery, reforms, the steps that are being fulfilled. And as long as it is based on the delivery system, then absolutely we as a state will be competitive and I am convinced that we will be the ones who reach the final goal first, said Mitskoski, who is participating today in the Summit of Western Balkan leaders for the growth plan in Tirana.
Asked if there has been a softening in the positions of Europeans, the Prime Minister responded that it depends on which part and that he is more focused on the steps that are part of the development agenda, that is, the development plan.
– Those steps that remained in the grace period, which were not previously delivered due to the pause for the Local elections, we immediately after the completion of the Local elections got to work and a strong delivery and by the end of the year I expect at least eight, and maybe even 10 out of 12 unmet steps to be realized, said Mitskoski. (November 21, 2025)
