European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged all parties in Albania on Saturday to work hard to implement a milestone accord with the EU expected to be signed in the first half of this year, Reuters reported. Albania must continue to fight corruption and crime, said Barroso, in Tirana to attend the initialling of a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). He urged Albania's polarised parties to see European integration "as a truly national goal". Initialling the SAA, which has important free trade and political components and marks the first rung on the ladder to EU membership, ends a three years of talks and paves the way for its formal signing in spring, Barroso said. "I urged Albanian parties to do everything for a proper implementation of this agreement," Barroso told reporters at a joint news conference with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. "A solid record of implementation is the condition for any further steps in the process (of EU membership)," he said. Albania has received about 1 billion euros ($1.19 billion) in EU aid since it toppled communism in 1990, but has been urged repeatedly to step up its fight against graft and criminality. "I spoke to Prime Minister Berisha about plans to fight corruption and organised crime. I welcome those plans and look forward to the results of the plans in action," Barroso said. He also reminded political parties that "in order to progress on the path towards Europe, it is crucially important that the government and the opposition cooperate".
