Albania: European integration remains priority

Albanian President Bujar Nishani said Friday that European integration remains a priority for Albania, stressing that his country will continue to push reforms to that end. Speaking during a reception for diplomatic corps in Tirana, held on the occasion of year-end holidays, Nishani said: "Albania highly appreciates the good relations with your countries and institutions." Considering the June 23 parliamentary elections as a test of the maturity of Albania's society and politics, he said the majority established by the elections has an ambitious program of reforms aimed at bringing Albania's standards closer to European standards. Strengthening good neighborhood relations with countries in the region, boosting security and consolidating stability remain the top priorities of Albania's Foreign Policy, stressed Nishani. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said last month that his country would try hard to get the status of European Union (EU) candidate by June. "We shall make our best (efforts) so that June turns out to be the time of the proper decision on Albania," Rama said during a news conference to review last year's governmental work since it came to power. "The EU has positively assessed Albania's steps, the job done by the new government and setting June as the deadline for getting the status is significant," Rama said.