Helmuth Lohan, head of the EU mission in Tirana, handed the questionnaire – a 384-page document with 2,280 questions – to Prime Minister Sali Berisha, the EU Delegation in Albania announced on its website.
"Today's handing over of the questionnaire marks an important milestone on Albania's European path. Replying to the questionnaire is a demanding task which requires strong commitment from the entire public administration," Lohan stated.
"The questionnaire attaches particular importance to the 'Copenhagen political criteria' for EU accession. Good governance, the rule of law, judiciary reform, the fight against corruption, media freedom – these are all key issues which will form the core of our assessment," read a statement from the EU delegation.
Berisha, who has spent more than half his time since the democratic changes in 1989 as president and prime minister, was re-elected as leader of the governing Democratic Party (DP) the previous day.
He described receiving the EU document as an "historic day" for his country, and appealed to opposition leader Edi Rama to celebrate, but also work together, with him.
Albania's opposition Socialist Party is currently boycotting parliament, and accuses the Democrats of fraud in the June parliamentary elections. The opposition demands a vote recount. But Berisha resisted these calls, and is urging the Socialists to end the boycott and comply with election results.
Lohan too appealed on all sides in Albania to start a dialogue in parliament and reach a "broad consensus" to implement the difficult reforms ahead.
EU officials have repeatedly warned that if the parliamentary boycott were to continue for long, it would have a negative impact on the country's chances of being granted candidate status by the European Union.
The poorest among EU hopefuls
Although Albania has changed enormously since the Communist period, when it was a unique case of autarchy vis-à-vis not only the West, but also the rest of the Communist bloc except China, it still remains a poor country. A recently published Eurostat survey puts Albania at the very bottom in Europe in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant, expressed in purchasing power standards.
With an EU-27 average of 100, Albania comes last with 26% of this indicator. Another candidate country, Croatia, stands much higher with 63%, a rate similar to that of EU member Hungary, at 64%. Turkey stands at 46%, which is higher that the rate of EU member Bulgaria (41%).
Iceland, the Nordic EU hopeful, stands above the EU average, at 121% - higher than Sweden, which has 120%. The highest wealth per habitant is registered in Luxembourg, with 276%, followed by Ireland, a long way behind with 135%.
