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| Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Olaf Schols in Berlin, November 14, 2023 |
Germany expresses dissatisfaction with Greece for blocking Albania's accession path to the European Union. Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Berlin, advising him not to hinder the opening of the first integration chapters between Tirana and Brussels due to bilateral issues.
During a joint press conference, the German leader emphasized that the time has come for the EU to admit the Western Balkans, 20 years after the Thessaloniki declaration: "In the past, I have worked extensively with various individual countries to ensure that there are no bilateral issues that would hinder the success of this process. We are working to ensure that this continues to be possible in the future. You also raised the issue of relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria. We hope we have made progress. We are working hard to resolve the very difficult situation between Kosovo and Serbia. We are always on the side of the accession process because we want these states to become members soon."
The Greek Prime Minister confirmed that he discussed the accession of the Western Balkans to the EU with the German Chancellor and praised Scholz's leading role in the Berlin Process. However, he indirectly mentioned that he would not give up his demands for the release of the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, on the usual pretext that his imprisonment is "an attack on the rule of law, a violation of civil rights, and a disregard for political rights."
"We have a special role in aligning with the legislative package and European rules but also in respecting the laws so that we actually create a proper accession process," Mitsotakis said.