Chancellor Merkel's CDU/CSU party's number two, Johann Wadephul, reacted over the last political situation in Albania and the chances of opening accession talks.
According to him, the EU priorities that would lead to the opening of accession negotiations at the end of this month, are not fulfilled.
"We want Albania to start membership negotiations as soon as possible, but it cannot happen at the end of this month. The condition for opening membership negotiations is that the Western Balkan countries fully meet the necessary criteria. This has not happened either in the judicial reform, in the fight against corruption, nor in the fight against organized crime. The Tahiri issue is a "big fish". This issue is a real obstacle to opening negotiations," said Wadephul.
Asked about the situation with the actual Interior Minister, he said that Xhafaj is in a conflict of interest.
"In my knowledge according to the presented facts and the law, the Interior Minister in this case, is in a conflict of interest. For its credibility to the Albanian people as well as to its European partners, the Interior Minister, who is responsible for establishing the rule of law, should be interested in a complete clarification of the issue. But this cannot happen if he remains on duty as a person involved. So we still have considerable suspicions if there is a political will to practice EU legal standards," said Merkel's MP.
He added that these obstacles are not major if there is a political will to steer away corruption and organized crime continuously, in order to respect and enforce law and order.