Edi Rama is an Albanian politician, painter, writer, former university lecturer, publicist and former basketball player, who has been serving as the 33rd and incumbent Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania since 2005. He was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1998, an office he held until 2000. First elected mayor of Tirana in 2000, he was reelected in 2003 and 2007.
The European Union (EU) has expanded a number of times throughout its history by way of the accession of new member states to the Union. To join the EU, a state needs to fulfil economic and political conditions called the Copenhagen criteria, which require a stable democratic government that respects the rule of law, and its corresponding freedoms and institutions. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement. The process of enlargement is sometimes referred to as European integration. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws.
The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was launched on Bulgaria's initiative in 1996. At the Bulgaria-chaired meeting in Sofia, the Southeast Europe (SEE) countries laid the foundations for regional co-operation for the purposes of creating an atmosphere of trust, good neighbourly relations and stability.
Albania is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the European Union (EU). It applied for EU membership on 28 April 2009, and has since June 2014 been an official candidate for accession. The Council of the European Union decided in March 2020 to open accession negotiations with Albania.
Accession of Montenegro to the European Union is on the agenda for future enlargement of the EU.
Serbia applied to join the European Union (EU) in 2009 and has been a candidate for membership since 2012, along with nine other states. Serbia is the largest country in Southeast Europe seeking entry into the EU.
The accession of Kosovo to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Kosovo is currently recognized by the EU as a potential candidate for accession.
Kosovo unilaterally self proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008, a move which Serbia strongly rejects. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent state and continues to claim it as the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. However, differences and disputes remain, while North Kosovo is partially under Serbian rule. Initially there were no relations between the two; but in the following years there has been increased dialogue and cooperation between the two sides.
Tanja Fajon is a Slovenian politician, former leader of Social Democrats, part of the Party of European Socialists and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovenia. She has been serving as the minister of foreign and european affairs in the government of Prime Minister Robert Golob since 1 June 2022.
Conference of Western Balkan States was a 28 August 2014 conference of heads of states and governments of Western Balkans region initiated by German chancellor Angela Merkel. An idea for organization of conference came in light of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I. It is the first conference in this framework and organizers expressed their desire to continue it in future with Vienna and Paris mentioned as a potential next hosts after Berlin. Günther Oettinger confirmed at conference that event will be organised annually with Vienna as a host city in 2015 and Paris in 2016.
The 2015 Western Balkans Summit was the second annual summit of heads of states and governments of Western Balkans. It took place in the Vienna, Austria, following the 2014 Conference of Western Balkan States that took place in Berlin, Germany. This summit forms part of the Berlin Process, a five-year process marked by yearly summits in order to underline the commitment to Future enlargement of the European Union towards the Western Balkans region. Official date of summit is 27 of August 2015. After 2014 conference Günther Oettinger confirmed that the event will be organised annually with Vienna as a host city in 2015 and Paris in 2016.
The Berlin Process is an intergovernmental cooperation initiative linked to the future enlargement of the European Union.
2016 Western Balkans Summit in Paris, France was third annual summit within the Berlin Process initiative for European integration of Western Balkans states. Previous summits took place in Berlin in 2014 and in Vienna in 2015. Heads of government, foreign ministers and the ministers of economy of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as EU member states from the region Croatia, Slovenia and EU member states Austria, France, Germany, Italy as well as representatives of the European Union and the International Financial Institutions took part in Paris summit. Summit took place on 4 July 2016. Participants welcomed the intention of Italy to host the next summit in 2017.
The 2017 Western Balkans Summit in Trieste, Italy was the fourth annual summit within the Berlin Process initiative for European integration of Western Balkans states. Previous summits took place in Berlin in 2014, Vienna in 2015 and in Paris in 2016. Heads of government, foreign ministers and the ministers of economy of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as EU member states from the region Croatia, Slovenia and EU member states Austria, France, Germany, Italy as well as representatives of the European Union and the International Financial Institutions attended. Participants once again committed the Western Balkan's eventual path into the EU and agreed the next Berlin Process Summit would take place in London.
Albania has an embassy in Berlin, a general consulate in Munich and 2 honorary consulates in Essen and Stuttgart. Germany has an embassy in Tirana.
The 2018 Western Balkans Summit in London, United Kingdom, was the fifth annual summit within the Berlin Process initiative for European integration of Western Balkans states. The summit took place on 9–10 July. Previous summits took place in Berlin in 2014, Vienna in 2015, Paris in 2016 and Trieste in 2017. Heads of government, foreign ministers and the ministers of economy of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as EU member states from the region Croatia, Slovenia and EU member states such as the United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Italy as well as representatives of the European Union and the International Financial Institutions attended the summit.
Air Albania is the flag carrier of Albania. The airline maintains its hub and company headquarters at the Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 2018, it serves eleven destinations in Europe.
The 2019 Western Balkans Summit in Poznań, Poland, was the sixth annual summit within the Berlin Process initiative for European integration of Western Balkans states. Heads of government, foreign ministers, and the ministers of economy from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia attended, as well as two existing EU member states from the region - Croatia and Slovenia. In addition, other EU member states including Austria, France, Germany, and Italy, as well as representatives of the European Union and the International Financial Institutions, attended to the summit.
Johann Sattler is an Austrian diplomat. Since September 2019, he has been serving as the EU Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Open Balkan is an economic and political zone of three member states in the Balkans, those being Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. The zone has a total area of 131,935 km2 (50,940 sq mi) and an estimated total population of almost 12 million located in Central and Southern Europe. The official languages are Albanian, Macedonian and Serbian. Its administrative centres are the cities of Belgrade, Skopje and Tirana. With the establishment of the zone, all three member states aim to increase trade and cooperation as well as improve bilateral relations.
