Albania's self-consuming corruption undermining path to EU accession

The EU's focus in Albania has been on making progress on judicial and anti-corruption reforms. According to Epidamn Zeqo, the reasons why the accession criteria were set up by the EU in the first place are related directly to Albania's challenges in fighting corruption and organized crime. Integration can be delayed in case political tension continues. Albanian leaders have the responsibility to convince the EU that they are ready to open talks and not miss this historic chance.

Although the EU is aware that Erdogan's and Putin's objectives are to cement their power in these countries, which directly challenges Western strategic interests and values, delaying this decision puts these countries at risk, as the delay only advances the strategic interests of the two rivals in the western Balkans-Russia and Turkey.

Turkey and Russia have been targeting the Balkans for the past several years (which they view as easy prey) in an effort to coopt them into their spheres of influence. They promulgate their sinister political agenda by investing in major national projects strategically calculated to have the greatest economic and political impact on the financial market, and by using submissive politicians to do their bidding.

Whereas Putin does not hide his animosity toward the Western alliance and tries to undercut their interests anywhere he can, Erdogan wants to have it both ways. He wants to maintain Turkey's membership in NATO and presumably still desires to join the EU. Yet, he seems willing to undermine the EU's and NATO's strategic interests in the Balkans by cozying up to Putin while entrenching Turkey in Serbia, only to serve Turkey's interests.

France and the Netherlands are correct to suggest that the EU must first deepen integration among existing members, reform the cumbersome decision-making processes, and ensure that candidates such as Albania address their endemic corruption problems before it adds new members. It would be more prudent, though, to commence the accession talks while insisting that the Albanian government must, during the negotiating process, clean up its act in earnest as a prerequisite to continuing negotiations.

The Albanian government must understand that while it can have normal relations with Russia and Turkey, it should prevent them from dominating the country's political discourse and financial sector. Albania's future prosperity and security rest on accession to the EU. To that end, it must take all the necessary social and political measures to accelerate the process of integration, which is of significant strategic importance to the EU as well.