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The Greek Current
The Greek Current

Albania's stalled bid for EU membership

EU governments gave Albania and North Macedonia - whose bid to join the EU is tied together - the green light to begin accession talks more than a year ago, but the process has officially stalled. One reason is that Bulgaria has put a hold on any talks with North Macedonia, which is preventing the process from moving forward. At the same time, Albania still needs to undertake more reforms to strengthen its democratic institutions and root out corruption. 

Journalist John Psaropoulos, who was recently in Albania covering developments on the ground, joins The Greek Current to talk about the steps Albania’s government has taken to address European concerns. We also look at how the failure to kick off talks is leading to a number of Albanians choosing to leave for brighter futures elsewhere. 

John Psaropoulos is an independent journalist based in Greece and Al Jazeera’s southeast Europe correspondent. 

Read John Psaropoulos’ latest piece in Al Jazeera here: Stuck in the waiting room: Albania’s years-long bid to join EU

You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here: 

Turkey to pull out of Istanbul Convention on violence against women

Church must urge flock to take vaccine, PM tells Ieronymos

No plan to start vaccinations in beaches, squares, health ministry says

Πηγή: http://www.hellenicleaders.com/

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