Flash News

Ditari i Opozitës

PD criticizes the government for starting negotiations with the EU: Albania lost the opportunity to be the "Slovenia of the Balkans"

PD criticizes the government for starting negotiations with the EU: Albania lost

The head of the Department of Foreign Policy in the Democratic Party (PD), Ilda Zhulali, has made a strong statement to the media, criticizing the government of Edi Rama regarding the start of negotiations for Albania's membership in the European Union.

Zhulali emphasized that the country had the potential to become the "Slovenia of the Western Balkans", but failed due to Rama's governance.

According to Zhulali, Albania starts the negotiations today as a country with serious democratic and legal problems, citing the existence of so-called "political prisoners", including the head of the opposition. She also denounced corruption, criminality and the lack of free and fair elections.

Full Statement:

Albania started negotiations today as the country that has three political prisoners, starting with the head of the largest opposition party in the country. Today is an important day for Albania. Finally, after 10 years, Albania starts negotiations for membership in the European Union. During this decade, Albania had every opportunity to be the Slovenia of the Western Balkans. It had every chance to be the locomotive leading the Balkan train towards the EU. But Edi Rama had another project. Because of Edi Rama, Albania starts negotiations as a country that does not hold free and fair elections, neither like Kosovo nor Macedonia.


Albania starts the negotiations as a country that has three political prisoners, starting with the head of the largest opposition party in the country. We start negotiations with crime, drugs and corruption at Colombian levels. With 148 thousand families that will have to wait 15 years before receiving the final decision from the Albanian courts. With the agricultural funds, granted by the EU, suspended by the EU due to their theft by Rama officials. With the predatory schemes of public assets through PPP and concessions. The highest number of asylum seekers in the EU.

In 10 years, Edi Rama did not even come close to the standard established during the 8 years of the Democratic Party's government, which in record time, within 2 years, fulfilled 140 conditions and removed the burden of visas for Albanians, who today travel only with passports in hand . The Democratic Party signed the Stabilization-Association agreement, secured its ratification by 25 member countries, submitted the application for membership and prepared within 3 months the complete process of scanning the entire legal body and administrative skills in the country.

The Democratic Party dismantled over 200 criminal gangs in record time, built the electronic registry of citizens, produced passports and biometric identity cards, built the TIMS and MEMEX security systems, the maritime inter-operational center, the electronic procurement system, one-stop shop services for businesses. It carried out strategic projects such as the Nation's Road, the trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline, the doubling of green energy production, the construction of the country's tourist infrastructure, increased the standard of living by doubling salaries and pensions, subsidized Albanian farmers and increased local production, attracted billions of euros in foreign investment in place. Thanks to this transformation, around 200,000 Albanians returned to Albania by the end of 2013.

All this shows that where there is a will there is always a solution. The unwavering will of the Democratic Party is the real transformation of Albania, and the rapid membership in the European Union. With this pledge and the long-awaited start of membership negotiations, the Democratic Party invites all Albanian citizens to join together to realize this major project, to make Albania truly European. Our promise is that with the Democratic Party, Albania will be transformed into a country with welfare, high standard of living, functional institutions that respect the freedoms and basic human rights.

Latest news