Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that the Justice Reform is the key towards Albania’s accession to EU.

Rama gave an interview on "France 24", one of the largest televisions in France. The Albanian Prime Minister spoke about integration and the pandemic as two of the main issues where the Albanian government is focused.

Rama spoke about the vaccination of the population and the gradual opening of the country. He used his appearance on French television to declare that Albania offers a holiday without Covid-19 measures and without a forced obligation to wear a mask.

"We have done a job that is serious and with results that have been appreciated by the whole world. Albania is at the top of the European list for mass vaccination and with optimal figures for infections and fatalities.

When I talk about mass vaccination and when I talk about the pace of vaccination, I think of European statistics, where Albania is among the first countries. The figure of 862 thousand is outstanding for a country with such a population.

For Europe I would say it is sad, because all the Balkan countries should have access to distribution. We live with Europe, we are surrounded by European borders. I personally have made Pfizer, but in our country, we have four vaccines, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Sputnik. We have had a success; according to the statistics, we are with risk level 1. In Albania you can enter or leave, without a test. Masks since last week are not mandatory, we still have a decision to keep the masks inside, but there are no problems with the imposition of measures that force citizens.”

Prime Minister Rama also spoke about the issue of negotiations where, although he said that he expects a positive decision, he said that he is not surprised by Brussels.

"It must be said that before the pandemic it was decided that negotiations would be opened. The decision was then made to postpone the conference. I am waiting and nothing surprises me in Brussels, because there are internal dynamics every day, there is a story every day that is difficult. Of course, we want to see what happens. But we now have a problem with Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia and we will see if the problem will be solved," Rama said.

He spoke about the patronage scandal and said that the data collected in the patronage register are not personal. According to the Prime Minister, the civil registry in Albania has been public on the Internet for years.

"We have a report from the OSCE / ODIHR that is very clear on the integrity of the campaign and the elections. I am very glad that I was asked the question, that I have read untrue articles in France as well. There are no individual personal data that have come out, but have been given to the party organization, which are not related to personal data. First, civil status data and registers in Albania have been public online over the years. Second, the number of ID cards is not personal. It is a number that shows that this person has this card in the civil service, but it is not given sensitively."

Asked for the first time about the sentence of the former general prosecutor Adriatik Llalla, Rama said that it is a signal that the rule of law works, while he hinted between the lines, that if there is a sentence for other "Former" politics and the judiciary, then the EU is not far away.

"If Albania did not have problems, today we would be in the EU. That is why we have entered this battle to reform justice. If the former General Prosecutor, and former personalities of the judiciary and politics are convicted, it is a good signal for the rule of law, therefore we continue this process of negotiations, to build a rule of law, a functioning democracy", Rama concluded.