Albania will not open its borders but it will not build walls, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced during a press conference in Tirana with Federica Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
«Albania is a small country, but it never avoided its responsibilities towards its partners. We remain devoted to the values and principles of Europe, but we will not open our borders, however, we will not build walls. We are ready to assume our responsibility within the framework of a European plan,» Rama said.
The Albanian prime minister, whose country has witnessed one of the largest emigration of its citizens to other European countries – particularly Greece and Italy – during the 1990s and over the last decade, said the ongoing refugee / migrant crisis is not just a challenge for Greece, Italy, or even less so, for Albania, but a challenge for all of Europe.
Meanwhile, the country’s interior minister will travel to Rome this week to discuss common initiatives with the Italian government in case the refugee / migrant flows shift towards Albania and the Adriatic.
