Following a conference call with Democratic Party of Albania (DPA) President Lulzim BASHA and the DPA parliamentary group, EPP President Joseph DAUL made the following statement:

“I have had a fruitful and sincere exchange of views with DPA President Lulzim Basha and the DPA parliamentary group. The objective of today’s video conference was first and foremost to call on our member party in Albania to constructively contribute towards a solution leading to DPA’s participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections and to maintaining calm and restraining from any kind of violence.

The EPP and its member party DPA share the view that a stronger fight against drugs is crucial both for Albania as well as for the EU. I commend our member party for putting the fight against drugs at the top of the political agenda. In this regard, I agree, and will support, that the EU should strengthen its monitoring of the implementation of the action plan 2017-2020 for the fight against cannabis cultivation and trafficking. Furthermore, the EU should strengthen its financial support for the completion of the aerial survey of all Albanian territory in order to identify cannabis plantations and monitor their destruction.

The registration and the participation in the upcoming elections of all parties is indispensable. I also reiterated that any boycotts of elections or of the Parliament are by no means in line with the standards of the European Union or of the EPP. In this context, I was reassured by the DPA that the party will engage in further constructive negotiations with the ruling majority in order to find a solution to this end.

Moreover, I stressed that the compromise proposed by EPP Vice President David McAllister last week set the right priorities in order to ensure that elections are in line with international standards. In this regard, I call on all parties to sincerely engage in finding a political solution.”