Prime Minister Edi Rama proposed on Monday, during the proceedings of the Berlin Process Summit in Tirana, the observer status for countries that are in transition from the opening of accession negotiations to full membership.

In the opening speech of the Berlin Process Summit, which is taking place on Monday in Tirana, Rama said that “we must explore new ways to narrow the existing gaps and ensure a harmonious existence of Europe.”

“What I’m saying is that in this rapidly evolving landscape, in a world where geostrategic and fast-track decisions are increasingly turning into advantages for autocracies that are trying to gather momentum to change the way how the world works since the Second World War, we must explore every avenue to narrow the existing gaps and ensure a harmonious existence of Europe,” said Rama.

The Prime Minister emphasized that we must deal with this division before Europe is internally damaged.

“Actually, I understand that the idea of ​​33, 35 or 40 EU members is something quite challenging to predict in the near future at these troubled times inside various perimeters. I would ask instead. Would it be more pragmatic to reshape the journey from accession talks to membership rather than rush to set membership deadlines that may not even be agreed upon or be observed by the 27 members, but also run counter to the merit-based principles of full integration of each of the countries? Would it be fairer to deal with the inertia of this division by introducing observer status for countries that are in transition from the opening of accession negotiations to full membership?, said Rama.

This intermediate status, according to him, “would give some privileges of course without the right to vote.”