As Secretary of the Regional Cooperation Council, Majlinda Bregu commented on the decision of the EU Foreign Ministers to postpone the negotiations for Albania and Northern Macedonia.
During a statement to the media, Bregu said that most Albanians seek EU integration as they see a future ahead while some of them do not trust the institutions in the country. This said Bregu is a trend has been observed in all countries of the region.
“It confirmed a steady trend. It moves slightly in percentage from year to year especially in recent years. There is an increase in support and hope. At 77% support for regional cooperation. I will leave the explanations to you. I believe that support for the European integration process is about a perspective for the future ahead.
A second reason may be for less credible institutions in the region. We have almost the same attitudes. Political parties and parliament in the region are less trusted. Every time we see an increase in the percentage of support for the EU, distrust of domestic institutions also increases. It is the hope to have the standards that have long been required in our countries. “Other findings are related to security,” she said.
Bregu said that some citizens in the region have felt betrayed but underlined a trend observed among young people, emphasizing that some of them do not know that Albania is not part of the EU.
The reality may be more problematic given the fact that the enlargement process has not produced enough news for years to shake public opinion.
One of the reasons is related to the fact that there is no information about the EU integration processes. 30% of young people do not know that Albania is not an EU member state. Another reason could be the fact that a good part of them hope to be part of the EU because they will leave finding a job or joining their families.
“Optimism comes from the fact that man hopes to go where the dream leads him,” she said. / abcnews.al
