TIRANA (Albania), July 18 (SeeNews) – The EU's enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn has announced the official launch of the EU screening process with Albania as the first step toward the process of accession negotiations.
“The EU screening process is a thorough and detailed exercise, which will allow Albania’s administration to familiarize with the EU legislation,” Hahn said in a Twitter post late on Tuesday, following a meeting with Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama.
“The Commission will accompany Albania throughout the process,” Hahn said, adding that the focus will be on key areas such as the continuation of the vetting process along with the institutional restructuring of the judiciary and further tangible results in the fight against corruption.
He also said the whole accession process including the preparatory stage should be inclusive.
"Commend government for reaching out to opposition, parliament, stakeholders and civil society. Reform process is not done for Brussels, but to the benefit of Albanian citizens," Hahn noted.
Last month, the Council of the EU decided to set out the path for opening accession negotiations with Albania in June 2019.
The Council granted the status of EU candidate country to Albania in 2014.