EU attention to weapons. Albania very good progress

EU High Representative Kaja Kalas assesses Albania’s ambitious objective to join within 2030. The process that according to her requires the continuation of reforms, but which she says is showing very good progress. In an interview for TV Klan ”, Kallas spoke about the situation in the region that he describes fragile and stating that the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia relations that there will be a personal investment for the approach of the parties. Also the deputy president of the European Commission speaks of the attention of member states in security and protection and making its own arms production projects.

Full interview

First of all, thank you for agreeing to conduct this interview together. The biggest interest is for European integration so I would like to ask some questions about it. How do you evaluate Albania’s progress in this process and what are the next steps that you think should be taken to advance it?

Kaja Kalas: Albania has very ambitious objectives and is actually addressing the EU enlargement process with full energy. I think it is extremely important to continue with the different reforms to be undertaken and the reforms not only be approved but also implemented. These are the next steps, which are needed to really continue on the way of enlargement to the EU. But I think Albania is making very good progress and really has this goal in mind.

How would you consider the relations of the EU and Albania in a single word?

Kaja Kalas: Albania is a strategic partner of the European Union and we have been very good partners in different fields. Today we also discussed cooperation, what we can do more in terms of security and protection, treating hybrid threats, cyber security, all these issues, but we are also good trade partners. So I think we can do much more to take advantage of this relationship. So it is for the benefit of both sides.

How do you see the pre -election situation, do you think that the meeting standards of the 11th election will affect the integration process?

Kaja Kalas: Every democracy has elections, so this is a fundamental aspect of democracy. We hear that there is widespread political support for EU membership. Of course, for reforms to be adopted you need political support from different parties and I understand that it is a goal that everyone has to really join the European Union.

Security in the Western Balkans is still fragile. What plans has it been to contribute to the stability and peace of the region?

Kaja Kalas: As you say, peace and stability are very fragile in the Western Balkans. It is our interest to be a stable region. So of course we are working with different places. Today I will go to Bosnia and Herzegovina and I am trying to work with partners there as well.

What is the role of Albania in this context?

Cane: Albania has been a stable partner and a peaceful partner, as well as a very good interlocutor, when it comes to real mediation between different Western Balkan countries. So I think we appreciate the advice we get from Albania on issues in the Western Balkans and of course we appreciate the cooperation we have with Albania, because I think one of the roles that Albania can have is that if you make good progress on your path to the EU, this is also a good example for everyone else to do the same.

What is the advantage in the process of normalizing relations between Kosovo and Serbia?

Kaja Kalas: It is in our interest to have a normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and without normalization these countries cannot move forward when it comes to EU membership. So it is in the interest of both countries. I also aim to invest my time and energy to try to really bring the parties closer.

We are seeing that Germany has recently moved for the first time since World War II military troops outside the territory. Why all these changes in the field of defense? Is Europe preparing for war?

Kaja Kalas: We are responding to threats and what is happening in the world. If we see instability, then we have to prepare to protect. We are seeing Russia that brutally attacks Ukraine, another independent sovereign country. We are also seeing that Russia is spending more than 9% of its GDP on the military. So we have to prepare to protect ourselves.

How do you evaluate the cooperation between the EU and Albania in the field of security and protection?

Kaja Kalas: Today we opened the first EU-Albania dialogue on security and protection. There are many things we already do together. We are very grateful to Albania who participates in European missions, the operations we have in Bosnia and Herzegovina or even in the Red Sea. So this is what we are already doing. The area where we can improve our cooperation is cyber security, attack against hybrid threats. It is also the confrontation with counter-terrorism and the fight against false information and manipulation.

Do you have a comment on Albania’s plan to start the production of weapons in the country?

Kaja Kalas: What we have heard in NATO, in the transatlantic alliance we Europeans have with our United States partners is that Europeans need to invest more in our protection. And that includes Albania. That is why we are making our steps at European level to develop our defense industry and this is what our partners like Albania are taking into account, to do more for our defense.