Marc De Buck, gedeputeerde Annie Mervillie, gemeenteraadslid

After our successful seminar of last week considering the relations between Turkey and the European Union it is a great honour for me as member of the Provincial Government of East Flanders in charge of Economic Affairs and International relations to welcome you all again here in our provincial house to attend a new guest college in the framework of the well known Monday evening lectures.

The initiative of the Monday evening lectures, started up five years ago by professor Marc Maresceau in cooperation with our provincial government and the Infopoint Europe Direct, earned in the meanwhile an eminent reputation. The fact that two representatives of the European Commission responsible for the Jean Monnet label were present here last week and – being very enthousiastic about this event – invited professor Maresceau to give a testimony in Brussels about what they consider as a perfect example of best practices fully illustrates this.

Mrs Ambassador,

A special word of welcome for you. You have to be the twentieth ambassador we may greet here on this forum since the start of our Monday Evening lectures five years ago. The coincidence wishes that the two countries being discussed in a timeframe of less then one week have an important common history.

But much more important is the fact that both countries also have the same ambition: accession to the European Union. Last week your country has made a marvellous step forward in achieving this ambition.

The fact that the file with the application for accession to the EU has officially been send to the European Commission is an important step towards the effective membership to the EU.

We are also pleased that we may greet you here this evening as a privileged witness in this for your country so important period. You will undoubtedly not blame me when I pose that you represent a country which has known a special but also difficult history and which for many people still is largely unknown. A country also having - for many decades - occupied a unique and sometimes very strongly isolated position within the geopolitical balance of power between East and West but also within the struggle for power in the former communist block symbolised by the USSR and China.

Albania is also located in a region which has been confronted the last two decades with very strong regional tensions and conflicts having had their repercussion on the global development of this region and this on a moment that your country was making a lot of efforts towards social reforms and integration in the international political and economic society.

Fortunately, in the meanwhile, the situation has improved a lot. The major geopolitical relations have been fundamentally changed and the region has calmed down. Albania became in this region a strong stabile actor and wants to valorise this in the future. So the moment of this Monday evening lecture has been really chosen very well!

Mrs Ambassador,

I had the honour to read your curriculum vitae and noticed that in your very fascinating career you always had a very good feeling with regard to timing and choices.

After many decades of tension between your country and the former USSR you studied as one of the first in Moscow and were perfectly placed to play an important role in the rebuilding of the relations between both countries. Also in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs you were occupying key positions making it logic that you represent your country today within the European Union. It is clear that we have all the ingredients present here this evening to listen to a very fascinating lecture.

Before giving you the floor, mrs Ambassador, I would first like to pass the word to the co – host of this evening, professor Maresceau,

I thank you for your attention.