{"id":53876,"date":"2025-12-18T13:31:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T10:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/?post_type=events&#038;p=53876"},"modified":"2025-12-22T13:18:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T10:18:29","slug":"synantisi-me-tin-ka-elisa-spiropali-ypourgo-evropis-kai-exoterikon-ypotheseon-tis-alvanias","status":"publish","type":"events","link":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/events\/meeting-with-ms-elisa-spiropali-minister-for-europe-and-foreign-affairs-of-albania\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting with Ms. Elisa Spiropali, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"the-content\"><p>On Tuesday, 16 December 2025, the Hellenic Foundation for European &amp; Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) had the pleasure of welcoming <strong>H.E. Elisa Spiropali, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania<\/strong>, for an in-depth exchange with a select group of high-level participants, in the framework of ELIAMEP\u2019s initiative\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/projects\/think-nea-new-narratives-of-eu-integration\/\"><strong>think nea \u2013 New Narratives of EU Integration<\/strong><\/a>, supported by the\u00a0<strong>Open Society Foundations Western Balkans<\/strong>. The Minister was welcomed by <strong>Dr. Elena Lazarou<\/strong>, <em>Director General of ELIAMEP<\/em>, and <strong>Dr. Ioannis Armakolas<\/strong>, <em>Head of the South-East Europe Programme and Director of the initiative<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The discussion focused on <strong>Albania\u2019s European integration trajectory<\/strong>, the evolving geopolitical environment in the Western Balkans, and the broader challenges facing the EU enlargement process at a critical juncture. Minister Spiropali underlined that EU accession remains Albania\u2019s <strong>top strategic priority<\/strong>, stressing that the country is making full use of the current \u201cwindow of opportunity\u201d created by the shifting geopolitical landscape following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. She emphasised that European integration is not only a foreign policy objective, but a <strong>deeply transformative process<\/strong> affecting all strategic policy areas and Albanian society as a whole. She highlighted Albania\u2019s steady progress in the \u201cfundamentals\u201d of the accession process, noting that reform credibility and preparedness remain the country\u2019s strongest assets amid growing uncertainty within the European Union itself.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond enlargement, the discussion addressed <strong>geopolitical competition and external influence<\/strong> in the Western Balkans. The Minister stressed that the region must no longer be treated as a geopolitical grey area, warning that enlargement fatigue risks undermining EU credibility not only among member states but also among candidate countries.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting concluded with a discussion on regional dynamics, the EU\u2019s role in revitalising dialogue processes, and Albania\u2019s continued commitment to reforms and constructive engagement despite an increasingly complex international environment.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":53878,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"program":[23],"eventscats":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events\/53876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/events"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events\/53876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53933,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events\/53876\/revisions\/53933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"program","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program?post=53876"},{"taxonomy":"eventscats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eliamep.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eventscats?post=53876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}