TIRANA, Oct 15 /ATA/-By Maela Marini/ - Prime Minister Edi Rama has hailed the opening of the first negotiation cluster with the European Union as a cornerstone in the common path towards complete European reunification.

After the second meeting of the Accession Conference between Albania and the European Union at ministerial level in Luxembourg on Tuesday, Prime Minister Edi Rama appeared at a joint press conference with Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, whose country holds current EU presidency, and the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi.

The government head said that opening the Cluster 1: Fundamentals with five main negotiating chapters and three main criteria is a major milestone for both Albania and the European Union.

“We don't need a reminder of the importance of staying and working together bound by the principles and values ​​that define the EU. This is especially true in these challenging times when a host of crises have come upon us with the need for us to be closer and stand together and figure out how to move forward,” PM Rama said in the press statement.

The Premier stated that Vladimir Putin’s aggression on Ukraine had spurred Europe into action helped accelerate Albania’s EU accession talks.

“The aggression served as a wakeup call, reminding Europe that the illusion of self-sufficiency is just  an illusion and made it clear in the hardest way that it needs the Western Balkans as much as the Western Balkans need the EU,” PM Rama said.

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