Common report
On 1 January 2008 the Visa Facilitation Agreement1 (VFA) came into force for citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia with the aim to enable easier Schengen visa procedures for travelling to the EU.
The VFA envisages benefits such as a unified visa fee of 35 Euro, a further total exemption from the fee for certain categories of applicants on personal or professional grounds, decisions on visas are to be made within 10 calendar days and the requirements in terms of the accompanying documents have been simplified. From this stems the expectation that the travel to the 24 countries in the Schengen zone should now be easier, including the obtaining of multiple-entry short-term visas.
Briefing Report Visa Facilitation in Western Balkans
European Movement in Albania, in the framework of the project “Does it really matter? Visa Facilitation in the Western Balkans”, supported by East-East Partnership Beyond Borders Program, the Open Society Institute and King Baudouin Foundation, published in July 2008 a Briefing Report concerning the implementation of the Visa Facilitation Agreement between European Communities and Albania.
Nation in Transit
Ditmir Bushati, Executive Director of European Movement in Albania has prepared the country report for 2007 “Nation in Transit” published annually by Freedom House.The report is based on five pillars: National Democratic Governance, Electoral Process, Civil Society, Independent and Transparency of Media, Local Democratic Governance, Judicial Framework and Independence, and Corruption, measuring the progress of democratic change in Albania.
European Movement in Albania (EMA) is an independent organization, organized in the form of an NGO combining think tank and advocacy instruments. European Movement in Albania was established in February 2007 and became member of European Movement International.
Ten Albanian pupils, who have been selected through a competitive procedure to take part in the programme “EuroMed-Scola”, met today with Ambassador Helmuth Lohan, Head of the EC Delegation to Albania, Mrs Maryse Daviet, Ambassador of France to Albania, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Lulzim Basha.
In the framework of the project “Supporting the EU Info Points Network in University towns of Albania” Delegation of the European Commission to Albania and European Movement in Albania, organized on 28 October 2008 a kick of meeting for the project implementation. The meeting brought together representatives of 7 Universities (rectors and the contact points of the EU Info Points), Ministry of European Integration and other donor organizations which support similar EU related information programmes. The overall goal of the project is to bring Europe closer to Albanian citizens, especially to the young generation, in order to improve student’s knowledge, for different issues related to EU policies and implementation of standards imposed by the Stabilization and Association Agreement, through the revitalization of the EU Info Points.
In framework of the project “Supporting local government’s engagement in EU assistance programmes” supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Albania, European Movement in Albania (EMA) in partnership with Municipality of Durres, organized on 3 October 2008 a workshop in Durres. This activity is part of the project which aims at enhancing the administrative capacities of Municipality of Durres, responsible for the management of the EU funded programs, disseminating knowledge on IPA for stakeholders, and enhancing the role of the civil society in the policy making process.
