Minister Bushati meets his Dutch counterpart Hable Zijlstra

On the margins of the proceedings of NATO Ministerial in Brussels, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ditmir Bushati held a meeting with the Dutch Foreign Minister, Hable Zijlstra. The Minister briefed his Dutch counterpart on the reforms carried out by the Albanian government to deliver the five key priorities, particularly the implementation of the justice reform and the vetting process. Minister Bushati said that Albanian government is confident that the country is ready to start accession talks.

Minister Zijlstra highlighted that the perspective of the Western Balkans and Albania in the EU is indisputable. Drawing lessons from the previous enlargement experiments, which resulted hasty, especially with regard to meeting the criteria for strengthening the rule of law and good governance, the Netherlands wants to take measured but determined steps as regards further enlargement policy. He praised the close cooperation between the two countries, in particular among the police forces of the two countries, and said that the government should preserve the momentum of the reforms. The results in the fight against corruption and organized crime will encourage the opening of membership talks, he stressed.