Laima Andrikienė: ‘EU accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania could start this semester’
Press release, 20 April 2021
‘Lithuania’s position at the Foreign Affairs Council or the European Council (EC) on the Western Balkans should be clear: Lithuania should seek that negotiations on EU membership with North Macedonia and Albania be opened this semester under the Portuguese Presidency’, said Laima Andrikienė, Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and of the Homeland Union-Christian Democrats, at today’s webinar Balkan Market: Business Specifics and Opportunities. The event, which was organised by Vilnius Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts and expected to lead to the signing of cooperation agreements, was attended by representatives of associated business entities from North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia.
Ms Andrikienė, Head of the Seimas Group for Inter-Parliamentary Relations with the Western Balkan Countries, noted that the Western Balkan region was important for Lithuania in many aspects, including security, new markets, trade, investment, fight against illegal migration and organised crime, innovations, etc. There are numerous challenges facing the Western Balkans, since Russia does not want to give up its positions, and China is trying to establish a bridgehead for its own influence.
‘Croatia is already an EU Member State, EU negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro are underway, while Albania and North Macedonia are waiting for an invitation to open accession negotiations. The EU’s enlargement to the Western Balkans is also in Lithuania’s interest. Perhaps in 2027, when Lithuania holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we, the European Union, will have already completed negotiations with these candidate countries, and possibly, already during the Lithuanian Presidency, Albania and North Macedonia will become part of the new wave of EU enlargement, enlargement to the Western Balkans,’ said the Member of the Seimas.
When referring to the parliamentary elections to be held in Albania on 25 April this year, which she is going to monitor as part of the election observation delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Ms Andrikienė noted: ‘Albania will take a democracy test on the upcoming Sunday. If international observers from the PACE, the European Parliament, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) recognise the elections as complying with international standards, there will be no obstacles for Albania to opening accession negotiations with the EU.’
For more information:
Aldona Drėgvaitė, Adviser to Dr Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Member of the Seimas,
Monika Kutkaitytė