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Mr. Bushati stressed that when more than 30 years have passed since the fall of dictatorship and Albania is still far from EU membership, a pact for Europe is indispensable. He did not hesitate to consider with the same term of the Opposition the businessmen who win most of the public tenders.
"EU member states have taken 8 to 12 years from application to membership, while we are still far from membership. The Pact for Europe provides for institutions, administration and main lines of economy-building, or will we continue with a group of businessmen that I also consider in some cases oligarchs who revolve around the budget. I'm dealing with the phenomenon and I don't want to deal with names. We want to build Albania for the other generation. The time has come to liberate another kind of energy because we have tried predatory capitalism, once we (Socialist Party) and the next time the Opposition,” said the former socialist minister.
Speaking about whether the SP is ready for secession from its narrow interests and the level of democracy within the SP, Mr. Bushati stated that this could not come immediately.
"The secession could not happen in a day, but the critical moment has not come but has passed. Our alternative is better today than the opposition, but that is not enough when we look at the gap between us and the part of Europe that is part of the EU. It may not be the right definition, but a political force always has to improve, in representation in government but also on all levels.
Commenting on the mini-Schengen initiative, the former foreign minister considered it a good initiative even if it does not produce any effects but served to reduce tensions between the countries of the region. But, Mr. Bushati has been tough on ceding Albania-Kosovo relations, referring to the clash between the two prime ministers, Edi Rama and Ramush Haradinaj. For this, he said, we are moving away from the strategic objective, such as national unity.
"Apart from brothers and sisters, we have a strategic partnership with Kosovo, that agreement has all areas of cooperation and is the moment for useful instruments to deepen this agreement. Rama's lawsuit against Haradinaj shows that there is a problem in our relationship and I do not believe there is anyone happy with the level of exchange of responses. It is therefore important that we Albanians must become rational. As Albanians, we have moved away from strategic objectives. Not just national unity, but also of high standards in both countries.