Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama went on an official visit to Rome today where he was received by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Rama's visit takes place about two weeks after the visit of the President of the Council Conte in Tirana, an occasion in which Italy's support for Albania's European path was reiterated.
"Following the EU's decision to postpone the conclusions for the negotiations" of the accession of Albania and Northern Macedonia to the European Union, "I stated firmly and resolutely that this is a historical error, I repeat it for the benefit of the people of Albania". This is what the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte said at the meeting at the Palazzo Chigi with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama.
The green light of the EU "remains the best tool of integration", to guarantee to Albania that in the next appointments will have to present itself with all the papers in order, a more reliable and secure development. On this Italy - assures Conte - will be in the front line, a commitment that I will take on every EU Council", says the premier, recalling how the European Union has in this." a great responsibility".
With the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, "we have carried out a survey of the already intense cooperation in the judicial and police field. I reiterated Italy's commitment to strengthening this cooperation, with particular attention to the fight against organized crime and illicit trafficking. I am pleased to be able to announce that an agreement has also been reached in the important sector of the transfer of Albanian prisoners, already the first transfer will be concluded soon”. Giuseppe Conte said among other things.
Right to retirement, the agreement between Italy and Albania
"Italy is home to the largest Albanian community abroad. There are 30 thousand Albanian small and medium enterprises that guarantee a contribution to our economy. We will evaluate the possibility of a possible agreement also on the pension plan. We will work together and exchange information."
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stressed that "500,000 Albanians live in Italy, of which 300,000 contribute to the coffers of the Italian state. In Italian schools, there are 115,000 Albanian children and 10,000 are university students. The issue of social insurance must be addressed - states Rama. Good cooperation continues between Italy and Albania and attempts to reach an agreement need to be accelerated, which would be important for these families."
Giuseppe Conte
"I am really pleased to host Prime Minister Rama in Rome today, just two weeks after my visit to Tirana. Following the decision of the European council to postpone the conclusions regarding the opening of the negotiations for accession to the European Union for Albania and North Macedonia, I said, I said it immediately in a firm and resolute way, that it is a historic mistake.
I reiterate it today again, in front of Prime Minister Rama and I repeat it for the benefit of all the Albanian people. The prospect of enlargement for the Western Balkans remains the best tool to fully integrate the Albanian and Northern Macedonia people into the European Union and to guarantee their most reliable and secure development.
For Albania it is particularly so, because the process of rapprochement has already translated into some significant reforms and will continue to translate into a process of reforms of the country necessary to strengthen democratic institutions and its full development.
It remains current therefore to resolve the institutional political crisis within Albania, to proceed and complete the reform process and have all the papers in order at the next meeting in which member states will be called upon to rule again on enlargement.
What I can guarantee is that Italy will be at the forefront in supporting this request and I undertake the commitment to support this request with every European Council deadline or appointment. On this I think the European Union has a great responsibility, it has started a dialogue with Albania and North Macedonia and it cannot interrupt this interlocution even if preliminary because we are talking anyway to start a formal negotiation and not to decide if now currently whether or not Albania and therefore also North Macedonia is integrated into Europe.
I reiterated to Prime Minister Rama the encouragement for a clear opening also to the opposition in order to unblock the critical points that have long prevented Albania from proceeding along the path of the announced reforms, in particular, the electoral one.
And I allow myself as prime minister of a country that has a strong tradition of friendship with Albania, I reiterate here the invitation to the opposition forces to accept such an opening with a constructive spirit and, if you will allow me: without pre-conditions. With the Prime Minister, we also examined the issue of further strengthening our already excellent relationships, particularly in the economic field. Although Italy is by far the first economic-commercial partner of Albania, there is a common desire to do more and better with an active commitment from both countries.
In this regard, we have decided to establish a permanent bilateral economic commission which will have the dual purpose of identifying new investment opportunities for important Italian companies in Albania, while examining also the main problems and disputes between Italian companies and Albanian administrations.
This can also be a tool for going against the demands of our companies that are eager to strengthen their presence in Albania, to invest even more and better, and obviously have concerns for the local business climate.
The objective is to concretely address those negative aspects that have emerged over the years and that could constitute an obstacle to greater Italian penetration in strategic sectors of the Albanian economy, starting from tourism, infrastructure and energy.
We also carried out a survey of the already intense cooperation in the judicial and police field, I reiterated Italy's commitment to strengthen this cooperation with particular attention to the fight against organized crime and illicit trafficking. And I am pleased to be able to announce that we have reached an agreement in the important sector of the transfer of Albanian prisoners, so already a first transfer is being started and will be completed shortly.
As for the exchange between the Italian and Albanian communities, we must say that over time it has taken a circular course. For example, we have many Albanian citizens returning to Albania after years of residence in Italy. Here, this favors a virtuous movement and a very fruitful exchange of experiences and knowledge for both our countries.
In today's meeting we also, but we had promised to do so two weeks ago during my visit to Tirana, we also discussed the strengthening of collaboration in the field of education and higher education; our competent ministries have also been working to reach an agreement to reach the signing of a text that will favor the recognition of Albanian titles in Italy and therefore in Europe and, at the same time, to favor the creation of joint titles and double titles, as well that of doctorates.
We are particularly keen on this agreement because it will be of particular promotion, say, for the intensification of cultural relations; in this way the academic offer will be strengthened avoiding that the best elements are forced to leave the country to complete their studies. It will also be important for Albania to approach the European space of education, confirming a path towards the European Union also in this area.
It will be this agreement, which we hope to be able to improve soon, also important for Italy, not only for Albania, because our young graduates and our teachers will have a greater projection of teaching possibilities in a friendly country, in a country near the 'Italy, and in the future the alliance between Italy and Albania may constitute for us a greater projection of the Italian educational system in the Western Balkans also in view of the constitution of an Adriatic-Ionian educational space "- declared the Italian premier Giuseppe Conte.
"Following the EU's decision to postpone the conclusions for the negotiations" of the accession of Albania and Northern Macedonia to the European Union, "I stated firmly and resolutely that this is a historical error, I repeat it for the benefit of the people of Albania". This is what the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte said at the meeting at the Palazzo Chigi with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama.
The green light of the EU "remains the best tool of integration", to guarantee to Albania that in the next appointments will have to present itself with all the papers in order, a more reliable and secure development. On this Italy - assures Conte - will be in the front line, a commitment that I will take on every EU Council", says the premier, recalling how the European Union has in this." a great responsibility".
With the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, "we have carried out a survey of the already intense cooperation in the judicial and police field. I reiterated Italy's commitment to strengthening this cooperation, with particular attention to the fight against organized crime and illicit trafficking. I am pleased to be able to announce that an agreement has also been reached in the important sector of the transfer of Albanian prisoners, already the first transfer will be concluded soon”. Giuseppe Conte said among other things.
Right to retirement, the agreement between Italy and Albania
"Italy is home to the largest Albanian community abroad. There are 30 thousand Albanian small and medium enterprises that guarantee a contribution to our economy. We will evaluate the possibility of a possible agreement also on the pension plan. We will work together and exchange information."
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stressed that "500,000 Albanians live in Italy, of which 300,000 contribute to the coffers of the Italian state. In Italian schools, there are 115,000 Albanian children and 10,000 are university students. The issue of social insurance must be addressed - states Rama. Good cooperation continues between Italy and Albania and attempts to reach an agreement need to be accelerated, which would be important for these families."
Giuseppe Conte
"I am really pleased to host Prime Minister Rama in Rome today, just two weeks after my visit to Tirana. Following the decision of the European council to postpone the conclusions regarding the opening of the negotiations for accession to the European Union for Albania and North Macedonia, I said, I said it immediately in a firm and resolute way, that it is a historic mistake.
I reiterate it today again, in front of Prime Minister Rama and I repeat it for the benefit of all the Albanian people. The prospect of enlargement for the Western Balkans remains the best tool to fully integrate the Albanian and Northern Macedonia people into the European Union and to guarantee their most reliable and secure development.
For Albania it is particularly so, because the process of rapprochement has already translated into some significant reforms and will continue to translate into a process of reforms of the country necessary to strengthen democratic institutions and its full development.
It remains current therefore to resolve the institutional political crisis within Albania, to proceed and complete the reform process and have all the papers in order at the next meeting in which member states will be called upon to rule again on enlargement.
What I can guarantee is that Italy will be at the forefront in supporting this request and I undertake the commitment to support this request with every European Council deadline or appointment. On this I think the European Union has a great responsibility, it has started a dialogue with Albania and North Macedonia and it cannot interrupt this interlocution even if preliminary because we are talking anyway to start a formal negotiation and not to decide if now currently whether or not Albania and therefore also North Macedonia is integrated into Europe.
I reiterated to Prime Minister Rama the encouragement for a clear opening also to the opposition in order to unblock the critical points that have long prevented Albania from proceeding along the path of the announced reforms, in particular, the electoral one.
And I allow myself as prime minister of a country that has a strong tradition of friendship with Albania, I reiterate here the invitation to the opposition forces to accept such an opening with a constructive spirit and, if you will allow me: without pre-conditions. With the Prime Minister, we also examined the issue of further strengthening our already excellent relationships, particularly in the economic field. Although Italy is by far the first economic-commercial partner of Albania, there is a common desire to do more and better with an active commitment from both countries.
In this regard, we have decided to establish a permanent bilateral economic commission which will have the dual purpose of identifying new investment opportunities for important Italian companies in Albania, while examining also the main problems and disputes between Italian companies and Albanian administrations.
This can also be a tool for going against the demands of our companies that are eager to strengthen their presence in Albania, to invest even more and better, and obviously have concerns for the local business climate.
The objective is to concretely address those negative aspects that have emerged over the years and that could constitute an obstacle to greater Italian penetration in strategic sectors of the Albanian economy, starting from tourism, infrastructure and energy.
We also carried out a survey of the already intense cooperation in the judicial and police field, I reiterated Italy's commitment to strengthen this cooperation with particular attention to the fight against organized crime and illicit trafficking. And I am pleased to be able to announce that we have reached an agreement in the important sector of the transfer of Albanian prisoners, so already a first transfer is being started and will be completed shortly.
As for the exchange between the Italian and Albanian communities, we must say that over time it has taken a circular course. For example, we have many Albanian citizens returning to Albania after years of residence in Italy. Here, this favors a virtuous movement and a very fruitful exchange of experiences and knowledge for both our countries.
In today's meeting we also, but we had promised to do so two weeks ago during my visit to Tirana, we also discussed the strengthening of collaboration in the field of education and higher education; our competent ministries have also been working to reach an agreement to reach the signing of a text that will favor the recognition of Albanian titles in Italy and therefore in Europe and, at the same time, to favor the creation of joint titles and double titles, as well that of doctorates.
We are particularly keen on this agreement because it will be of particular promotion, say, for the intensification of cultural relations; in this way the academic offer will be strengthened avoiding that the best elements are forced to leave the country to complete their studies. It will also be important for Albania to approach the European space of education, confirming a path towards the European Union also in this area.
It will be this agreement, which we hope to be able to improve soon, also important for Italy, not only for Albania, because our young graduates and our teachers will have a greater projection of teaching possibilities in a friendly country, in a country near the 'Italy, and in the future the alliance between Italy and Albania may constitute for us a greater projection of the Italian educational system in the Western Balkans also in view of the constitution of an Adriatic-Ionian educational space "- declared the Italian premier Giuseppe Conte.