The British Ambassador to Albania, Fiona McIlwham, spoke today at the annual KRIIK Summer University in Vlora.  The title of her talk was “EU Enlargement in 2009: A UK Perspective”

The Ambassador stressed the UK’s commitment to further enlargement of the European Union, based on strong conditionality.

The Ambassador said that “Conditionality exists and is fundamental to the credibility and momentum of the enlargement process. And in the current economic and political climate, the appetite for lowering those standards, however strong the geo-political arguments, is low.”

The Ambassador stressed the UK’s support, through investment in projects, programmes and people in the region, to the reform that will bring the countries closer to EU standards.

Each year, the KRIIK Summer University is attended by young people active in the public life of their own countries, through NGOs, political forums, journalism, and other activities.

Half of the students come from Albania, and the rest are from the wider Western Balkan region (eg Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia) and other parts of Europe (including Poland, Romania, Norway).

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