I want to start this article with a completely personal and sincere confession. When I was going to apply for higher master's studies, I chose the Master's in Public Law without hesitation. The main impetus was because this master's degree allowed me to deepen my studies in the field of EU Law, based on the idea that knowledge of the EU legislation should be primary for professionals in this field, especially now with the start of the process of negotiations for membership. Today, looking at the way the issue of EU enlargement has unfolded, a sad parallel comes to mind. I am talking about the accession process of Turkey, which started the journey towards the EU in the early 2000s, a journey which is dragging on until this day. I don't want to discuss the same or different reasons as ours for the stalling of this process, but just the idea that the process is taking forever, makes me have a naive question. What if we have the same fate?!
“We love Albania like all of Europe” is the flagship expression that has accompanied me in my family circle, as I grew up in the social circle and more widely in the media and political circle. In this corner of the world, there is a small nation of two million citizens with a great desire to go towards the EU and faces its resistance that sometimes brings it closer and sometimes pushes it away. Therefore, there are moments when this phrase sounds like a joke because our greatest European aspiration has been accompanied by achievements, disappointments, efforts, blockages, stubbornness, omissions, self-restraint and prejudices, praises and curses. Albania, like the entire region, I believe is experiencing a prolonged socio-economic regression, which has brought about the failure of government policies and the dysfunction of the EU's transformative policies. Even though we are living in calmer days, this region has fresh wounds from the war and the citizens still swim among the waves of challenges. To be honest, the EU's need to protect and consolidate the common European project cannot deprive the interests of the region's interests, which are of a more practical than ideological context. The interests that consist of the assistance, the impetus that the expansion process brings in the construction of the rule of law. The EU's priorities lie far from enlargement policies, considering a series of unfortunate events that have shifted the EU's agenda in a different direction. I can mention the recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the multidimensional consequences of the war in Ukraine. There's always something that pegs the politics of expansion. Somewhere a veto by Bulgaria to the approval of the negotiating framework of North Macedonia for historical reasons. Followed by the appearance of fear caused by the shadows of the past in the historical relationship between the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Thus, the individual meritocracy of the Canadian state, which should accompany the entire process of enlargement, unfortunately, takes second place. These events are the best example to reinforce the need to implement qualified majority voting on issues related to enlargement policy, not allowing bilateral disputes to block countries' path to membership.

The enlargement policy, specifically the start of negotiations, should give an impetus to recreate the reality we live in, a reality created due to our internal difficulties and due to the inability of the EU to control the reluctance to the expansion of internal structures. The chapter-by-chapter negotiation should be the moment when we start taking the work seriously because that's where the ability of our professionals will appear. Beyond enthusiasm, this process will test our commitment to the EU. After all, laws and their implementation, justice, the judicial system, the fight against crime and corruption, financial control, public administration, the market, and relations with neighbors and abroad will be under vision. Of course, this is a process of state modernization that must start in our society. It will be a difficult process, prolonged in time, exhausting, but with the final goal, the establishment of effective legal and political institutions. In this article must also be included the new enlargement methodology, which with its changes will redimension the enlargement policy. This methodology has gone beyond typical EU Commission arguments for "consensus and stability”. Now, the critical view of the EU Council takes a greater role. Even, going as far as political conditioning of the enlargement process, setting as a red line the real and tangible progress of the issues of the rule of law. Thus, the path to fulfilling our greatest aspiration will require even more effort, but being human also accepts what comes after the delay as a relief, so better late than never.

The truth is, there are times when I think that the old continent is not able to fulfil the aspirations of the young. This comes from our impatience to catch up with the lost time in these thirty years, from the difficult character of the Balkans or from the biological age itself. One thing I can tell you all for sure, young Albanians, just like young Europeans, have ideas, are smart, are talented, are successful and try to do their best.

About Author

Sanela Lilaj

I completed my Bachelor's studies in Law, at "Ismail Qemali" University, Vlora, from 2015-2018. I completed the Master of Science in Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Tirana, years 2018-2020, deepening my studies in EU law. Participating in trainings and workshops has helped me to concretize my knowledge in the field of liability law, public law in particular. The training "Development of the due process within a reasonable time" organized by the Center for Citizen Legal Initiatives and the Faculty of Law, Tirana is among the most essential. The training "Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights against Albania" and Work Shop " The European Right of Asylum" organized by the European Center, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Faculty of Human Sciences, Department of Law, "Ismail Qemali" University, Vlorë has helped me to understand the actual situation in Albania. It was important to participate in the competition "On the prevention and measures against violence in family relationships", organized by the Justice for All Coalition, the Institute of Southeast Europe for the Social Contract and the Women's Empowerment Network in Albania in 2017. I referred to the student conference " Albania under the interaction of law, society and politics", organized by Beder University College, Tirana in 2019. I worked as a legal editor within the RISA project - "Reporting on the Implementation of the SDGs by Albania". The two-year work as a legal editor of the "English-Albanian Dictionary of Logistics and Maritime Insurance Law" has also been positive for further training in the editing of legal acts. I am the author of two articles, "Albanian Justice Reform: An Approach Based on Democracy and Human Rights", and "Young People's Engagement in Politics, Reality or Facade?" in EuroSpeak Online Magazine.