TIRANA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian government on Wednesday symbolically raised the European Union (EU) flag on the building housing the prime minister's office.
The move followed the official launch of Albania's EU accession talks on Tuesday in Brussels.
Speaking in front of cabinet ministers, diplomats, and foreign representatives, Prime Minister Edi Rama called this event "an historical day for Albania."
He praised the role of international partners who helped smooth the way for Albania. But he acknowledged that the road to EU membership will not be easy, with changes required in many areas, including governance and more support for media freedom.
The EU formally started membership talks with Albania and neighboring North Macedonia via an intergovernmental conference in Brussels.
"... We need to continue to build a strong, democratic, European Albania and a strong, democratic, Western and open Balkans," Rama said in Brussels.
Tuesday saw the presentation of the overall negotiating framework, and the process will now continue with the screening process, whereby the EU will evaluate how prepared the candidate countries are in different areas to adopt the EU's legal framework.
Albania signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU 16 years ago, while in June 2014 the country received the status of a candidate country for EU membership.
In 2020, the European Council decided to open accession negotiations with Albania - a process that now has formally began. ■