I am very happy to be back here in Tirana. And I am very glad to see how much Albania has already achieved on its way to our Union. Indeed, we finally opened negotiations on the fundamentals' cluster. Dear Edi, what a success. It is the result of many years of hard work but also dedication to the common goal. You have shown both vision and patience. And this is now paying off. I would like to take the opportunity to also thank the teams behind it who have been working day and night tirelessly, highly dedicated to reach that goal, and they will now go on to work for the big goal that we both want to achieve. Rest assured that enlargement will remain a top in my next mandate too. We now have all the necessary tools and all the instruments that we need in place.
I want to highlight three points. My first point is on our Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. We discussed it last week at the Berlin Summit. You know the approach. We open the door to specific sectors in the Single Market of the European Union to the companies of our Western Balkan partners. In turn, our partners in the Western Balkans are implementing important reforms to have a level playing field. And these reforms are supported by us, by additional European investments. It has now been a year since we started, and most Western Balkan countries have their reform agenda ready. So does Albania. Dear Edi, you and your team have done a great job on this Reform Agenda. It is perfect. We can start now, we can work. Now we should also be able to start with a pre-financing of EUR 64 million by the end of the year. Overall, Albania will receive more than EUR 920 million under this Growth Plan. The Plan will deliver very concrete results. For example, you are on a good track to become part of the Single Euro Payments Area as of next year, a long term. It means that transfers of money between Albania and the European Union will be faster, more secure and free. It will benefit both your citizens and your companies.
