Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has said that Albania will not follow Bulgaria’s example and issue Albanian passports to ethnic Albanians living in Macedonia after joining the European Union. He said that Albania cannot make unilateral decisions that affect harmony within the European family.
The question was posed by a student from Macedonia, SuhejMehmedi, also known as the leader of the protests for taking the bar exam in Albanian. Mehmedi, a participant in a youth camp in the Albanian town of Yel, asked Rama during the meeting whether, following the example of Bulgaria, Albanians from Macedonia would also receive Albanian passports.
Rama said his answer will disappoint many.
“We are not a country that can do whatever it wants and how it wants when it comes to issues that concern the internal harmony of the European family,” PM Rama said.
He pointed out that Bulgarians only did so after becoming an EU member, ‘because their passport became very powerful.’
Rama previously stated that Albania would not veto Macedonia if it became an EU member.
Albania is set to close three chapters of its accession negotiations soon. The 9th Intergovernmental Conference between Albania and the EU will be held in Brussels on July 14.
