The Ambassador of the European Union, Silvio Gonzato, said that the plan to close all chapters of negotiations between Albania and the Union within 2027 can be achieved if the country "rolls up its sleeves".
"The plan for membership by the end of 2027 is ambitious, but it can be achieved if you work.
Albania can manage to open all the chapters by the end of 2025", said Gonzato as he handed Prime Minister Rama the progress report of the European Commission for 2024.
However, he said the political climate in the country is hindering progress in the right direction. "As for the political criterion, the report evaluates the function of the institutions as partially satisfactory, mainly due to political polarity", he said.
The ambassador of the European delegation in Tirana, Silvio Gonzato, during his speech said that as far as freedom of expression is concerned, the commission has noticed that there has been no progress in this field.
The ambassador said that work should be done in this direction.
"Another important area is the freedom of expression and unfortunately the commission does not notice any progress in this area and regarding the long-term issues that have been worrying especially the overlap of the interests of the media, business and politics and the problematic working conditions of journalists. I hope that the opening of the first group of negotiations will be a good opportunity for the Albanian authorities to implement these reforms", he said.