Tirana, Sept 25 2017 (Tirana Echo) – Germany’s foreign policy in the Balkans will remain unchanged, despite prospects of new coalition to be formed in Berlin – has said Germany’s Ambassador to Albania Susanne Schütz.
Comments come after Angela Merkel secured a fourth mandate as Germany’s Chancellor, but weakened by the gains of populist radical anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which will enter the Bundestag with a shocking 13% vote, ranking it the 3rd party of Europe’s most powerful country.
During an interview for Top Channel, Schütz said she didn’t expect any changes in the EU foreign policy lines as “all political parties in Germany are united in their support for Western Balkans integration into the European Union, as well as that of Albania”.
Asked if the AfD entry into parliament will impact Germany’s stance in the Balkans, Schütz said that despite the large parliamentary fraction of the AfD in the Bundestag, this would not impact policies of the federal government in the Western balkans, and more specifically in Albania.
Comments were made immediately after official results were confirmed of a fourth victory of Angela Merkel, confirming her as Europe’s strongest leader.
Merkel has been under constant attack in her homeland for her relaxed stance towards the hundreds of thousands of refugees settled in Germany over the past 2 years.
Concerns have been expressed over large numbers of asylum seekers and economic migrants coming from the Balkans, with Albanian citizens ranking at the top of asylum seeking data, after the Syrians and other war-torn countries in the Middle East.
However, Merkel has backed a German sponsored plan for the recovery of the Western Balkan countries known as the Berlin Process, which is an intergovernmental cooperation initiative aimed at revitalizing the multilateral ties between the Western Balkans and selected EU member states, and at improving regional cooperation in the Western Balkans on the issues of infrastructural and economic development.
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