In Tirana, where the Summit of the Berlin Process will take place, today Monday the Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The message that Greece supports and has always supported the European perspective of the Western Balkans, this support, however, it is not a blank check – candidate countries must respect and adhere to basic European principles and valuesthe Prime Minister will convey to the Summit of the Berlin Process in the capital of Albania, underlining that there are no exemptions from the rules of the Rule of Law and this concerns all candidate countries for membership.

At the same time, he will point out that the accession process is a long and arduous process and a difficult path for the candidate countries, however, their progress and their adaptation to the European acquis, that is, their performances themselves will judge the course so that they can claim their membership in the European family.

The prime minister is expected to reiterate that the refusal of the Albanian authorities to allow the elected mayor of Heimarra, Fredis Beleris, to be sworn in is in violation of the presumption of innocence and the rejection of his request constitutes a deviation by the European rules of law. The prime minister has made it clear that the case of F. Beleris will has consequences for Greek-Albanian relations and will influence Greece’s decisions on Albania’s accession process.

The Berlin Process comes ahead of the European Commission’s progress reports on the progress of the candidate countries and the EU Enlargement debate which started at the Informal European Council in Granada and is expected to culminate in the European Council in December.

The Western Balkan countries, nine EU countries (Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Slovenia) and the United Kingdom participate in the Berlin Process.

The Summit will focus on issues of economic convergence of the Western Balkans with the EU and their integration into the Single Market, good neighborly relations and bilateral issues, as well as supporting the green and digital transition in the Western Balkans.