Enlargement Commissioner in Tirana: Economic Convergence Necessary Between EU, Western Balkans

Marta Kos (BETAPHOTO/STA/Thierry Monasse)

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said in Tirana on Nov. 21 that it was necessary to achieve economic convergence between the European Union and the Western Balkans, and that the next two years should be used to carry out the Growth Plan successfully and lay the groundwork for full membership.

Kos told a summit called, Growth Plan: Our Pathway to the EU, in which she participated together with the prime ministers of the Western Balkan six, that a single regional market would boost members' markets by ten percent and that a lack of progress would threaten access to the EU's single market, the Albanian ATA news agency reported.

The reforms we have agreed on are in no way simple. Still, they make the acceleration of negotiations on EU accession possible and prepare your economies for taking part in a single market of 450 million citizens. They offer opportunities and ensure equal treatment with EU member states within EU policies, while at the same time signalling to existing members that your countries are ready for deeper integration, Kos said.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the Western Balkans was no longer a place of uncertainty and instability, but one of new possibilities, adding that the region's countries were not holding out their hands for handouts, but providing results and adding value. "We do not pray to join the EU and we do not beg for charity. We prove we are ready more and more with each day. We don't just talk, we show results, Rama said.Enlargement Commissioner in Tirana: Economic Convergence Necessary Between EU, Western Balkans