Rama reveals details of conversation with Macron: In Paris we discussed Albania’s EU integration and the Union’s future enlargement

Prime Minister Edi Rama has made public some of the topics discussed during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, describing the visit as another step in deepening political communication between Albania and France.

During the “Flasim” podcast, Rama said he and the French president discussed the progress of the strategic partnership between the two countries, as well as the support Paris is giving to Albania’s accession process to the European Union.

According to him, the discussions also covered developments related to the future of the European Union, as well as France’s weight on the issue of enlargement. Rama pointed out that France remains a key ally in advancing Albania’s European perspective, while also stressing the need to find new mechanisms to push the integration process forward.

“Further on, for the Notes of the Week, I highlighted the visit to Paris and then the one to Gdansk. First, in France, at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron, in a meeting that was another stop on the path of an ever-closer political dialogue between Albania and France, built over recent years. We discussed the progress of the strategic partnership projects between the two countries. Of course, we touched on the issue of France’s support in Albania’s accession process to the European Union and discussed the steps taken so far and the steps currently under way, as well as developments related to the future of the European Union, where France, as one of the countries with significant weight in relation to enlargement, has an important role in pushing forward the idea that the European perspective of Albania and the other countries that are negotiating is indisputable, but, on the other hand, new mechanisms must be found, something that was also written in the joint letter of President Emmanuel Macron with Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

In the same statement, Rama also spoke about his trip at the end of the week to Gdansk, Poland, where he took part in the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine. He said that not only support for Kyiv was addressed there, but also the architecture of European security for the years ahead.

“On the other hand, at the end of the week, I went to Gdansk, Poland, to the conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine, where not only support for Ukraine was discussed, but, more broadly, the architecture of European security in the coming years. My position, our position, Albania’s position, is known; it was reaffirmed, while it was also the right place, at the right time, to underline that the reconstruction of Ukraine and the further bringing closer of the Western Balkans, including Moldova and Ukraine, to the European Union should not be seen as two separate processes, but as part of the same strategic approach for a more stable Europe, a more united Europe, a safer Europe,” he said.