Albanian officials worried about Brexit's impact on EU membership bids

Albanian officials have expressed worries over the potential impact of the Brexit referendum on Albania's and other countries' bids to join the European Union (EU).

Some of them said it might make it harder for Albania to become an EU member, as the enlargement of the bloc will no longer be a priority for Brussels, the Albanian Daily News reported Tuesday.

High-level meetings of the EU are expected to be dominated for at least a year by the Brexit topic, politicians and diplomats said at the Integration Council meeting ahead of a Paris summit, where the integration of some Balkan countries is expected to be discussed.

"It must not be forgotten that during this year, there has been a chain of referendums and all these developments have a direct impact," said Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati.

Some politicians said that it is important for Albania to complete required reforms in time to avoid a negative impact on its EU integration process.

Albania's EU integration process will be based on whether the reforms are completed and EU standards are adopted, said Majlinda Bregu, chairperson of the European Integration Committee.

The Paris summit, to be held in early July, will be an important meeting in the next stage of the EU integration process of the Western Balkan countries, following summits in Berlin in 2014 and in Vienna in 2015. Endi