Dhe sa duhet të presim për të hyrë në BE? - Hapja e kapitujve me Shqipërinë, më e shpejtë se me çdo vend tjetër të rajonit
Procesi i negociatave me Shqipërinë po zhvillohet më shpejt se me çdo vend tjetër të rajonit, pasi në një kohë tepër të shkurtër kemi arritur të hapim një numër të madh kapitujsh.
Por a do i mbyllë Shqipëria negociatat me BE deri në 2027 ashtu siç kanë deklaruar Komisionerja për Zgjerimin Marta Kos dhe Kryeministri Edi Rama?
Ky është një objektiv shumë ambicioz, sepse anëtarësimi në BE varet nga shumë faktorë. Fillimisht, sa përparon Shqipëria me realizimin e reformave dhe përmbushjen e detyrave të tjera të caktuara nga Bashkimi Evropian. Së dyti, shtetet anëtare mund t’i rikthehen inateve të vjetra dhe e shohin këtë moment si rastin më të mirë për të bllokuar procesin e anëtarësimit (kjo ndodhi dy herë me Maqedoninë e Veriut, një herë për çështjen e emrit me Greqinë dhe një herë për çështjen e minoriteteve me Bullgarinë). Së treti, sa gati është Bashkimi Evropian të përthithë shtete të reja në gjirin e saj (megjithëse BE ka deklaruar se është pro zgjerimit momentalisht, ka disa shtete që thonë se BE nuk është gati për të pranuar anëtarë të rinj dhe ka nevojë të reformohet. Së katërti, gjithçka varet nga ndryshimet e kontekstit gjeopolitik, ku lufta në Ukrainë e ndihmoi këtë të fundit që të hapte menjëherë negociatat dhe e njëjta gjë ndodhi me ndikimin rus në Moldavi.
Që prej mbajtjes së Konferencës së Parë Ndërqeveritare në 2022, Shqipëria ka hapur 5 grupkapituj, ndërsa i mbetet edhe një për t'u hapur deri në fund të këtij viti. Kjo do të thotë se vetëm në një hark kohor prej 3 vitesh, Shqipëria ka hapur të gjithë kapitujt.
Në 2014, Serbia mbajti Konferencën e Parë Ndërqeveritare dhe që atëherë ka hapur vetëm 22 nga 35 kapituj, ndërsa ka mbyllur vetëm dy. Mali i Zi është më përpara Shqipërisë ku që prej 2021 janë hapur të gjithë kapitujt dhe 7 janë mbyllur. Megjithatë, procesi i hapjes së kapitujve për Malin e Zi ka qenë më i ngadaltë dhe është zhvilluar në një hark kohor prej afro 8 vitesh.
Edhe pse Konferenca e Parë Ndërqeveritare për Maqedoninë e Veriut u mbajt në të njëjtën kohë me Shqipërinë, në 2022, procesi i negociatave të Maqedonisë së Veriut ka ngecur fillimisht për shkak të problemeve me Greqinë dhe tashmë me Bullgarinë. Si rrjedhojë, Maqedonia e Veriut nuk ka hapur asnjë grupkapitull deri më tani.
Ndërkohë, për Bosnje dhe Hercegovinën, BE vendosi hapjen e negociatave gjatë vitit të kaluar, por nuk është mbajtur akoma Konferenca e Parë Ndërqeveritare. Kosova është në vendnumëro, ndërsa për Ukrainën dhe Moldavinë u zhvillua Konferenca e Parë Ndërqeveritare në 2024.
With the opening of negotiations for Chapter 4 on the Green Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, Albania only has one chapter left to open, the one on Resources, Agriculture and Cohesion, the opening of negotiations for which will take place by the end of this year. But what do experts think about the newly opened chapter?
" Today is a very important day for Albania and Albanians, as we have the opening of the fourth chapter group, the green agenda and sustainable connectivity. Within the content of this chapter group there are four chapters dealing with transport policy, energy, the trans-European network, the environment and climate change.
"This chapter group is very important for us, because it will bring radical changes to our country, but above all because it directly impacts the lives of citizens. It is also important because it will also be our ability to absorb more funds now that this chapter group has been opened ," said European Integration Expert, Lorela Alia.
Chapter 1 “Foundations” or otherwise called “Basis of Membership” is the one that was opened first and the one that will be closed last. It is considered very difficult due to the problems that every country has with the rule of law and corruption. However, Albania has an advantage in this chapter group, due to the implementation of the justice reform before the opening of negotiations, an action that has been highly appreciated by the European Union.
Chapter 6 is considered the simplest, as it consists of only 2 chapters, however, the European Union has set 3 closing milestones that may be difficult for Albania to meet. One of the milestones requires Albania to respect the Rome Treaty that created the International Criminal Court and to which our country is a signatory. This treaty requires signatory parties to hand over persons who commit war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide to the International Criminal Court. The problem lies in the fact that Albania also has a bilateral agreement with the United States of America that prohibits the surrender of American citizens to this court.
What about the newly opened group chapter, how difficult will it be for Albania?
"The approximation of legislation with that of the European Union will certainly be a challenge for this chapter group."
However, it will not be the most important challenge, as the biggest challenge will be the approximation to the standards of the European Union. And of course this approximation to the standards of the European Union requires billions of euros of investment and of course high expertise for this group chapter. Also, another challenge regarding this group chapter has to do with absorption, our ability in fact to absorb funds from the European Union for projects related to this group chapter.
And of course, another issue and a big challenge for us is related to this, which is related to corruption and the misuse of funds. So, this will increase the skepticism of the European Union countries to finance projects within this group of chapters. However, these are the general challenges of this group of chapters, if we go deeper into the chapters, then we will understand more about what progress we have for each chapter.
The chapter on energy is the most advanced chapter, where according to the European Commission it shows that Albania has an average preparation and receives a score of 3.5 out of 5, while the other 3 chapters related to transport, environment and the trans-European network have more problems, Albania has some preparation and receives a score of 2 out of 5. Also, regarding the 2020-2024 period, Albania has had limited progress and this limited progress, if it continues at the same pace and continuously, will be a very big challenge to conclude this chapter group in 2027, as is the objective of the Albanian government.
The most concrete challenges of these three chapters, the least advanced in terms of the integration process, relate to the non-approval of the National Transport Strategy, as well as the Road Safety Plan. Another issue related to protected areas, law number 81, which was amended in 2024, has been described by the European Commission as a negative step for Albania. Also, other issues are related to the environmental chapter, which relate to the lack of waste treatment and the problems of polluted waters, as well as air pollution, and others.
All of this shows how challenging and technical this chapter group will be in relation to the subsequent closure of this chapter group. Let us not forget that the first part is the scanning of the European Union, it is related to the approximation of legislation, so a deep scan of this part is done, but then it will also observe and scan in detail what has been done on the ground in a concrete way. And if Albania has not reached the standards, but has only approximated the legislation, then of course the closure will be quite difficult.
"This chapter group, compared to other chapter groups, is actually less voluminous, but while it is more technical and will certainly have many difficulties because in fact, if we were to compare them in total with all other chapter groups, this chapter group has 3 chapters that receive a grade of 2 out of 5 and have some preparation and have a slow advancement in terms of the integration process, so compared to others it will definitely be more challenging and this will also depend on the ability of our negotiating group to negotiate deadlines ," said the Expert.
In our country, there is a great political and popular will to join the European Union. Political will is key to advancing the integration process, while popular will confirms the great desire of Albanians to become part of the great European family. In countries like Serbia, among many other reasons, there is a great lack of political and popular will, which has caused the negotiation process to remain in limbo for years.
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