Boycott, bad signal, Mep Tunne Kelam: Unity for EU integration is needed

Boycott, bad signal, Mep Tunne Kelam: Unity for EU integration is needed

The head of EP delegation, Tunne Kelam, today asked Albanian political parties to co-operate in achieving the common goal of European Union integration.

According to Kelam, all the problems of democracy, the violation of democracy and the co-operation between parties, can be solved in the framework of the EU integration process. He said that it is important not to delay or to cause other delays in this process. Stating:

“We are interested in welcoming Albania into the EU as many of you Albanians are interested as well.

“You have made progress in many areas, but much remains to be done. Our attention has turned to the Reform on Justice and to the Vetting process.

“But the most important part is the implementation. For this purpose, and in order to be ready for the opening of negotiations, an internal co-operation is essential.

“The worst signal that Albania can give is one of a lack of political strategy for this objective. Political unity is required and national consensus is important.

“The boycott of the Parliament is a very bad signal. This undermines credibility. We do not agree that the boycott of Parliament would be the right thing to do.

“We call on all political parties and civil society to unite with each other.

“They cannot find a claim to delay the objective due to the divisions related to party interests. We are against the violent protests but we are much more opposed to the incitement of violence by political parties themselves,” said Kelam.

After meeting with many representatives of civil society and youth organizations, Kelam said that their conclusion is that Albania needs a much more active civil society and that civil society organizations need to have access to and participation in lawmaking.

According to Kelam, the future of Albania depends on its youth. The Law on Higher Education means to give the youth an opportunity to not leave the country. Student voices must be heard by the government for education reform.

At the end of the conference, Euro MP Kelam stated that despite sporadic cases of buying votes, the work should continue with the current government as it would not be able to continue with a transitional government, as it is the majority that has emerged from the elections.

EMISIONET