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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Albania, EU Agree to Start SAA Talks soon

Albania and the European Union (EU) agreed in Tirana on Monday to start talks on signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) as soon as possible.


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Albania and the European Union (EU) agreed in Tirana on Monday to start talks on signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) as soon as possible.

The move came as Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano held talks with visiting Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, whose country now holds the rotating EU presidency.

The EU planned in last October to open the SAA talks with Albania in late January or early February.

Speaking at a press conference after their meeting, Nano pledged his government would cooperate with the 15-nation bloc andwork to speed reforms, crack down on corruption and fight smuggling, in order to play a constructive role in the Balkan region.

Nano said Greece was an important partner of Albania in its bidto integrate itself into Europe.

Papandreou pledged the EU would help make Balkan countries its early candidates.

This, Papandreou earlier said during his stay in Skopje, capital of Macedonia, was top on the agenda during his country's EU presidency in the first half of this year. Other priorities were to increase contact with the Balkan nations and to press ahead with the EU countries' ratification of the SAA accords with some countries in the region, he told Macedonian Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski during talks.

Papandreou disclosed that the EU summit scheduled for June thisyear would decide on the applications of some Balkan nations for the EU membership. The SAA accords are seen as a necessary step for these countries before joining the EU.

During his talks with Crvenkovski, Papandreou said the EU hopedto see continued peace and stability in the Balkans and would maneuver to build a "new Balkans".

He stressed that peaceful and stable Balkans was not only in line with the interests of all nations in the region, but also conducive to their bids for the EU membership.

As part of a regional tour, Papandreou will also visit the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.


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