Plaka: The European Political Community maintains the hope of regional countries for EU membership

A lecturer at the "Epoka" University in Tirana and political analyst Armand Plaka says that the initiative of the European Political Community appears to be effective in maintaining the hope of countries in the region for EU membership, even though it was initially met with skepticism.

“The Western Balkan countries seem to have open doors, despite the skepticism that exists within the European Union – of course, keeping in mind that they have to complete their 'homework'. Let us not forget that numerous debates about the membership of our countries in the European Union became one of the incentives that created what is now called the European Political Community. It was the idea of President Macron,” Plaka told Kosovo Online.

The fact that the summit of the European Political Community was held yesterday in Tirana is, in his view, particularly significant for our region, especially for Albania. This meeting, he emphasizes, is a kind of confirmation of what can be called Albania’s achievements.

Plaka points out that there is a need to unify positions regarding the crisis in Ukraine and the “peace of tomorrow,” and that one of the biggest problems in Europe or for transatlantic partners since the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine has been the lack of cohesion or the shifting positions of various countries.

“In general, there has been unity, but there are also countries like Hungary, Slovakia, or others, which have from time to time 'raised their heads' with positions that differ from the official EU stance. In this regard, the unification of the positions of Western Balkan countries is particularly important – naturally, alongside other EU and non-EU countries. That would be the main motivation of this meeting. And even among the countries aspiring to EU membership, such as Albania, Montenegro, or Serbia, we have inconsistent positions. Here, I specifically have in mind the position of official Belgrade regarding the role of Russia, which is not the same as that of Albania or other countries aspiring to join the EU,” Plaka said.