“We didn’t lose 12 months; we have 12 months of hard work ahead”.

Prime Minister Edi Rama insists that the negotiations were not postponed by 12 months and he says this is just a preparatory period.

“We didn’t lose 12 months; we have 12 months of hard work ahead”.

The head of government reiterates that there are no new conditions for Albania.

“There is a difference between opening immediate negotiations and opening them in 12 months, but it is a very formal change. Even if the opening of the negotiations was immediate, we would still work for 12 months. The fact is that the date is in 2019, but the commission is immediately working. We haven’t lost 12 months, but we have 12 months of hard work ahead”

, Rama said.

Rama says Albania has been asked by the EU, despite no positive assessment, much more than the neighboring countries involved in the process./tvklan.al