European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Stabilisation and Association Agreement) (Republic of Albania) Order 2007

I thank the Minister for explaining the order, which is, theoretically, a first step towards EU membership for Albania. We on these Benches fully support EU enlargement into the Balkans region providing that the candidate countries meet the necessary criteria. The SAA was signed with Albania, after three years of talks, in recognition of the progress made with political and economic reform. However, while there have been signs of economic progress there, with inflation under tighter control and some growth, the country remains still one of the poorest in Europe. The EU is keen to encourage further reform, particularly in regard to tackling organised crime and corruption and developing media freedom and property and minority rights. Last year the United Kingdom provided around £2.3 million of bilateral aid to Albania. This was mainly in the form of technical assistance aimed at building government capacity for policy formulation and for the development of effective services. Given the well-documented problems of corruption that still plague Albania, what safeguards did Her Majesty’s Government seek to put in place to ensure this money was well spent? According to a recent survey, more than 60 per cent of Albanians perceive the United States as the best advocate of their country’s interests and on his recent visit to Albania President Bush was given a hero’s welcome. Do the Government have any plans for discussions with our American friends to encourage the Albanian Government to introduce the reforms required to meet the accession criteria of the EU? Finally, Albania has made it clear that the key objective of its foreign policy is to join Euro-Atlantic organisations. Given that Albania has contributed to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, can the Minister provide an update on Albania’s efforts to join NATO?