Bregu: Opening negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia is a reward for hard work

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - "Good news for us today. The member states of the European Union have reached a long-awaited political agreement on opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, confirming that the future of the Western Balkans is in Europe," said Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). 

"I sincerely congratulate Albania and North Macedonia, which have shown their determination to successfully implement the reform program and continue to achieve concrete and sustainable results, fulfilling the conditions for opening accession negotiations. This is a deserved reward for all the hard work, dedication, and commitment to implementing sustainable reforms on the path to European Union membership.

Amidst the global crisis caused by the pandemic and the sad news we have been hearing lately, this brings a smile to our faces and gives us concrete hope that when the world overcomes this danger that has befallen us, the region will have strong, additional motivation to move forward and deal with the consequences of the necessary lockdowns. We don't know how long this will last, but we are all sure that when it ends, the world will be very different. Therefore, a strengthened European perspective, as well as the fact that good neighborly relations and regional cooperation remain essential elements of the enlargement process, built on mutual trust, solidarity, security, clear criteria, and obligations, means a lot for the region.  

It will not be easy. If the European Union is expected to face a recession as a result of this pandemic (an economic recession of 2 to 10 points is expected), then we can also predict alarmingly high costs of the pandemic for the Western Balkan economies. And I fear the price will be high. All possible assistance that the region can receive is therefore urgently needed. Europe is incomplete without the Western Balkans, and together we can complete it!"