Thank you so much Prime Minister, dear Edi,

I am very happy to be back here in Tirana. And I am very glad to see how much Albania has already achieved on its way to our Union. Indeed, we finally opened negotiations on the fundamentals' cluster. Dear Edi, what a success. It is the result of many years of hard work but also dedication to the common goal. You have shown both vision and patience. And this is now paying off. I would like to take the opportunity to also thank the teams behind it who have been working day and night tirelessly, highly dedicated to reach that goal, and they will now go on to work for the big goal that we both want to achieve. Rest assured that enlargement will remain a top in my next mandate too. We now have all the necessary tools and all the instruments that we need in place.

I want to highlight three points. My first point is on our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. We discussed it last week at the Berlin Summit. You know the approach. We open the door to specific sectors in the Single Market of the European Union to the companies of our Western Balkan partners. In turn, our partners in the Western Balkans are implementing important reforms to have a level playing field. And these reforms are supported by us, by additional European investments. It has now been a year since we started, and most Western Balkan countries have their reform agenda ready. So does Albania. Dear Edi, you and your team have done a great job on this Reform Agenda. It is perfect. We can start now, we can work. Now we should also be able to start with a pre-financing of EUR 64 million by the end of the year. Overall, Albania will receive more than EUR 920 million under this Growth Plan. The Plan will deliver very concrete results. For example, you are on a good track to become part of the Single Euro Payments Area as of next year, a long term. It means that transfers of money between Albania and the European Union will be faster, more secure and free. It will benefit both your citizens and your companies. 

The second initiative I want to mention is our Investment Plan for the Western Balkans. There we started four years ago, and it is on track. In Albania, the Plan has already mobilised EUR 1.4 billion of investment, with a strong focus on the clean energy transition. You know that the European Union has set the course towards climate neutrality by 2050. It is important that our Western Balkan partners join us on this journey. This will certainly not be a challenge for Albania. Because you are a frontrunner. When clean energy is concerned, you are a trailblazer. So we are working with you on projects that can strengthen the leadership you have anyway in this topic, in renewable energy. We have the floating solar power plant in Vau i Dejës for example. It is the first of its kind in the region. We also have a EUR 50 million programme on energy efficiency that we also use to install charging facilities for electric cars. And we are investing in clean transport for better connectivity across the region here in Albania but of course also with the European Union. This includes Albania's railway connections to the European Union and plans for Tirana's first electric bus system. 

My third point, dear Edi, is a very special project here in Tirana. I am talking of course about the campus of the College of Europe. You came up with this brilliant idea two years ago – only two years ago I must say. We had to make it happen. It was such a fantastic idea. In a few moments, we will formally open the academic year for the first cohort of students. I am very much looking forward to meeting these young people studying European law and integration here in Tirana. They are the leaders of tomorrow. So it means the future of Europe is being shaped here, in Tirana, with this College and the young people.

My last point is another very important aspect of our cooperation. This summer, Albania, like several of our European Member States, was hit very hard by wildfires that were raging through Albania. Natural disasters are occurring more and more frequently all over our continent. We all know, this is the harsh reality of climate change. But we are fighting it with our best asset – which is European solidarity. We are extending to our Western Balkan partners the very same solidarity measures that we are using inside our Union. So we activated our Civil Protection Mechanism four times over the summer. We mobilised firefighting planes from Greece, Romania and Italy, for example. Because for us it is important to be a neighbour, a partner and a future member of the European Union.

Dear Edi, Albania is on track to join the European Union. I thank you very much for your hard work, your commitment and your friendship.