Austrian Ambassador: Lack of unanimity in the EU is an obstacle to Albania's integration

The European University of Tirana resumes the annual tradition of holding forums with invited personalities from various fields. The first guest for this academic year was the Ambassador of Austria in Albania, H.E. Dr. Christian Steiner, who conducted a conversation with students and professors of Political Science and International Relations.

The stalemate in the opening of negotiations for the integration of Albania and Northern Macedonia into the EU, due to the Bulgarian veto, raises many questions about the continuation of this process. The year 2021 seems to be closing without any good news for these two countries, while they together with Serbia continue the further consolidation of the Open Balkans.

The Ambassador of Austria in Albania, the first guest of the UET Forums, made a brief presentation of the establishment of the European Union and further of the path and time it took Austria to become part of the union, while also focusing on the way how the EU works in terms of organization and legislation. The representative of Austria in Albania also answered the questions of students and professors, regarding the latest developments in his country, after the resignation of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, and focused on the international security positions of Austria, which maintains neutrality and stands a NATO partner country.

Part of the discussion was the further strengthening and expansion of cooperation in the field of education, between UET and Austrian universities, as it already develops a PoSIG Master in "Political Science, Integration and Governance" with the University of Salzburg, Austria.

The Rector of UET, Tonin Gjuraj, who also moderated the activity, said that the pandemic somewhat limited the academic life and development of the Forums, but that now with the normalization of the situation, the organizations resume to bring different personalities to UET.

Austria Integration in EU

The European project came after the devastation brought about by World War II. It was even the two antagonistic countries of the war, France and Germany, that placed coal and steel production under a joint administration. They founded the European project, together with Italy and the Benelux countries, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and later, more countries joined in different rounds: the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark in 1973, Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in in 1986, followed by the largest enlargement in 2004, with 10 countries from the former Eastern Bloc, Romania and Bulgaria in 2007 and the last union so far being Croatia, in 2013. Austria joined in the fourth round of enlargement, in 1995, together with Finland.

The Austrian Ambassador to Albania explained that from a technical point of view the negotiations were not that difficult, as Austria had been walking the path of democracy and market economy for decades.

“"We applied in July 1989. We joined EFTA in 1960, in fact, as a founding member, and we had a free trade agreement with the European Communities in 1973. So in July 1991, we got a positive opinion from the European Commission. We started accession negotiations in February 1993. We had nine rounds of ministerial level and were already able to complete the negotiations in April 1994. We received approval from the European Parliament in May, while we also had a referendum in Austria on whether or not to join. Two-thirds of the population voted in favor in June. And that's actually also more or less the level of support it needs and that has grown a bit over the years. So at the moment we are about 70% of people in Austria approve of membership in the European Union. This figure is fluctuating slightly, as it was 74%, but apparently the crises have affected, such as the financial crisis of 2008. So in 1994 we signed the accession treaty in Corfu, as Greece held the presidency of the European Union in half first of '94. From the technical point of view, it was not that difficult ", explained the ambassador.”, sqaroi ambasadori.

Further, he also spoke about the political circumstances of the time, which seem to have favored Austria. Although a German-speaking country being added to the EU, Austria was a neutral country, and this made it have good relations with both the West and the East, that is, with the Soviet Union of that time and further Russia. According to the Austrian Ambassador, membership has influenced the country's economic development, GDP and employment growth.

“"The Austrian economy is a very export-oriented economy, about 70% of Austrian exports go to the EU and EU member states. Experts have tripled since 1995. Indirect investment in Austria has increased by about five times. New jobs were created that would not have been created if Austria had not joined the EU. "Also in Gross Domestic Product there was an increase of 63 billion," said Steiner. theksoi Steiner.

The Austrian Ambassador also touched on the legal framework and the way in which EU member states are organized as states within themselves and within the union, being part of the Council, the Commission or the European Parliament.

"80% of laws are passed by the so-called qualified majority, which means that 55% of the member states are needed, representing 65% of the entire EU population. But not all are voted by a qualified majority. In the case of enlargement, the vote is unanimous. So each member state must approve every step. "And that is also why we have not yet been able to open membership negotiations with Northern Macedonia and Albania so far," Steiner said.

Negotiation with Albanian

Regarding the integration of the Balkan region into the EU, Montenegro and Serbia are in membership negotiations, Northern Macedonia and Albania are candidate countries, while Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo are still potential candidate countries. Given that no country in the region, except Croatia, has become part of the EU, the "Open Balkans" initiative was created to increase economic and trade cooperation between the countries, but of course this has also encountered obstacles and incompatibility, made a non-comprehensive initiative. The leaders of Serbia and Northern Macedonia met with Prime Minister Edi Rama on December 21 in Tirana, where they signed an agreement to revoke their work permits, to facilitate the import-export of live animals and veterinary medicine, while reiterating calls for the unification of other countries.

The Ambassador of Austria in Albania, answering the questions of students and professors at the UET Forum, said that the future of Albania and the Western Balkans is in the EU, not only because of the geography, being part of Europe, but also because of the spirit which prevails in these countries and which is pro-Western and pro-European. Dr. Christian Steiner further explained that the path depends on progress and rapprochement with the EU, but the future looks promising.

"You have many relatives or acquaintances living in European Union countries. And in fact, I think there are a considerable number living in EU countries, which are a great asset even for membership negotiations, or for a painless path to the European Union. You are Europe, not only geography, but also because the views of mentality are oriented west. You also have one of the highest approval rates for the membership process. Despite the negative news for about the last two years, I think the future is promising. I think the picture has become clear when you look at the last speech of the French president, but also the visit of the Dutch prime minister. The Western Balkans is part of Europe and this is what the slogan "Europe is here" says. Integration depends, of course, on a number of issues, but I think the most important thing is to make progress in your approximation to the European Union, both in legislation and in practice. There are some discussions in the EU, which are not always so easy. But I think if the candidate countries do everything well, they will have a great position to join the European Union. "You are already a European country and the European Union treaty says that any European country can apply to join the European Union,"Steiner said.

UET cooperation with Austrian universities

Internationalization is a consolidated process of UET, as it has been part of Erasmus + for years. In this context, since 2017 the PoSIG Master is developed, a joint master between UET and the University of Salzburg in Austria.

The Rector of UET, Tonin Gjuraj said that the current situation of staff and student exchanges is satisfactory, but that with the support and good will, there will be collaborations with other Austrian universities.

"The European University of Tirana has a good level of cooperation with Austrian universities. We have the joint Master of Political Science at the University of Salzburg, which came as a result of Erasmus +. "I had the opportunity to visit two months ago at the university in Graz, with which we cooperate, returning after 26 years", said Gjuraj.

The Ambassador further expressed his support and that of the Embassy, to assist all students earning the right to study at an Austrian university.

"I think there really are programs and opportunities to study in Austria. You can find them all on our website and if you need more information, the embassy staff will help you, along with an Austrian lecturer. So feel free to contact us. "I think that once you have received approval from the universities, it is important that you contact us to get a residence permit, which often takes time," said Christian Steiner.