Tirana stabilty pact delayed

Date: 31/05/01

By Simon Taylor

ALBANIA must wait until next year to start negotiations on a pact paving its way to membership of the EU because of problems tackling organised crime and illegal trafficking.

Swedish diplomats said this week they hoped to announce at the Göteborg summit on 15-16 June that the Union will launch talks on a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) with Tirana in 2002.

So far only two Balkan states, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), have signed SAAs with the Union.

Next week the European Commission is expected to discuss a report based on the work of a steering committee which has met several times this year to examine Albania's progress towards EU standards. The report is expected to highlight Tirana's weaknesses but will also stress its success in upgrading its customs service.

Albania must wait until 2002 to start negotiations on a pact paving its way to membership of the EU because of problems tackling organised crime and illegal trafficking.