DREAM / The Prime Minister resigns and wakes up under the Parisian bridge!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

What does holding the first Intergovernmental Conference mean for Albania?

2022-07-19 12:04:04Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

What does holding the first Intergovernmental Conference mean for Albania?

Today Albania holds the first intergovernmental conference with the European Union! But what does this mean for our country? The first Inter-Governmental Conference officially starts the talks for a country's membership in the European Union. At the conference, government representatives gather and the basic frameworks are defined. These frameworks set out the guidelines and principles governing membership negotiations with each candidate country. The Commission will immediately begin the necessary preparatory work.

Negotiations take place between the ministries and ambassadors of the governments of the EU and the candidate country in what is called an intergovernmental conference.

The first stage involves the rigorous examination of the legislation of the candidate country; negotiations then proceed methodically through a series of EU legislation, which the candidate country must adopt and implement. The negotiations also extend to other rights and obligations that all Member States must accept - these are known as the Community acquis.

Accession negotiations must be completed before a new member state can join the European Union.

The political and economic reforms carried out by the candidate country are regularly monitored and evaluated and the pace of negotiations is determined by the results. Only when all parties are satisfied, the process ends with the signing and ratification of an Accession Treaty. During the process of accession negotiations, candidates and potential candidate countries can receive support through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). This includes a number of cross-border programs with EU member states, which closely mirror the functioning of the structural funds. Membership negotiations are currently ongoing with Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Negotiations have also been opened with Iceland, but are currently pending.

Elements of negotiation for each chapter

Screening – The commission does a detailed examination, together with the candidate country for each chapter to determine how prepared the country is in this area. The Commission presents the findings for each chapter to the member countries in the form of an analytical report. The conclusion of this report is a recommendation of the Commission to directly open negotiations or to establish certain conditions - first the "opening standards" or as they are called opening benchmarks must be achieved.

Negotiating positions – before negotiations start, the candidate country must state its position and the Commission must define or adapt a general position. For most chapters, the Commission will establish final standards that must be reached by the candidate country for the negotiations to be considered completed. In the case of Albania, it is thought to be a good start the fact that a preliminary work has been done in terms of Screening (analysis) with the chapters that will be opened first, 23 and 24 and that include the judiciary and justice reform.

The pace of negotiations depends on the speed of reforms and the alignment of the country's legislation with that of the EU. Although there is no institutional publication regarding the alignment of our legislation with that of the EU, it is thought that this figure should not exceed 30%. It should be taken into account that when a chapter is considered closed, the legislation of that area must have been 100% aligned.

Are funds available?

If Albania opens negotiations, does it benefit from additional funds in order to prepare for membership negotiations? The 2018 Enlargement Strategy of the EC naturally foresees the financial resources for a successful membership of the Balkan countries. The Instrument of Pre-Accession (IPA) is the instrument that helps these countries financially in their preparations for membership and facilitates regional and cross-border cooperation.

During the years 2007-2017, the EC has invested more than 8.9 billion euros in the region through the IPA. Referring to previous membership experiences, a gradual shift from the pre-accession stage to that of being a member country should be well anticipated, in order to enable the development of capacities to absorb funds. So, to put it briefly, if Albania's steps in the negotiation period will be clear and safe, the opportunities to absorb more funds will also increase. Everything depends on the progress of the reforms and the fulfillment of the membership criteria.

 


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×