EU Ambassador to Tirana Luigi Soreca spoke from Shkodra about the political situation in Albania. He has criticized criticized the Opposition about not stepping back and stated that he asked to the majority to dialogue.
But Ambassador Soreca stressed that if the kink is not resolved, Albania's EU integration is endangered.He also condemned the statements that incite violence and demanded peaceful protests.
"The European Union is very clear over the last 2 weeks to the situation in Albania.
The right to protest is for everyone and we support all those who protest. But this must be peaceful and without incitement to violence. Encouraging violence is inexcusable and we expect the following protests to be without inciting violence.
The situation is unprecedented, we have spoken with both sides. We have met with the Government and the Opposition. The Opposition is not holding back and that's a pity. We have said this several times but without success.
This affects the integration of Albania. We have sought dialogue and are impartial. We have asked the Government to dialogue.
We call upon all the politicians of Albania to keep the citizens side.
The EU supports the interests of the citizens of Albania. The situation in the country undermines this desire of 93% of Albanians for integration and EU membership is our goal towards Albania. In the absence of this solution, Albania's integration is at stake," Soreca said.
He urged the institutions to take action on the situation.
"I Invite the institutions to play their part in democracy, to look after the interests of the inhabitants. We urge all parties to participate in local elections as the only democratic way," said the EU ambassador.
Further on speaking about gender equality on women's day, Soreca said that women's rights should be respected.
"Today's message is that we are born with the same rights and these rights must be respected by all. Gender equality is an important right in terms of Albania's relationship with the EU," Soreca said.