00:54Albania: Merkel discusses EU membership with PM Rama during Tirana visit
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana, Wednesday. Taking a break from dealing with the Greek debt crisis, Merkel has visited the Balkans. Following her visit to Albania she headed to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for further bilateral talks.
The aim of the meeting was to address complaints from the Balkan countries that their applications to the European Union (EU) were stalling. Merkel took the opportunity to assure her Albanian counterpart that there would be no delays in their ambition to join the EU.
Of the Balkan countries, Slovenia and Croatia are already part of the union, whereas Serbia and Albania currently only have candidate status. Serbia's accession negotiations began in 2014 at the Intergovernmental Conference held on January 21, 2014, though Albania and the EU have yet to start accession negotiations.
00:54German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Tirana, Wednesday. Taking a break from dealing with the Greek debt crisis, Merkel has visited the Balkans. Following her visit to Albania she headed to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for further bilateral talks.
The aim of the meeting was to address complaints from the Balkan countries that their applications to the European Union (EU) were stalling. Merkel took the opportunity to assure her Albanian counterpart that there would be no delays in their ambition to join the EU.
Of the Balkan countries, Slovenia and Croatia are already part of the union, whereas Serbia and Albania currently only have candidate status. Serbia's accession negotiations began in 2014 at the Intergovernmental Conference held on January 21, 2014, though Albania and the EU have yet to start accession negotiations.