Former Ambassador Roland Bimo invited to the show "Oponencje" on News24 , has raised concerns regarding the way the European integration process is being handled and its impact on issues that he considers vital for the Albanian nation.

Bimo stated that in the integration process, there is a risk of neglecting important issues such as Kosovo, North Macedonia and the rights of Albanians in the region, emphasizing that integration should not come at the expense of national interests.

According to him, Albanian citizens would not accept an integration that harms broader national interests. He added that integration is often presented as an exclusive achievement of governments, while according to him this process belongs to the entire society.

Bimo also criticized the way of governance and the functioning of the rule of law, stating that institutional problems are still deep and that this reflects a lack of European standards in the country.

"On issues related to foreign policy, it is dangerous that for the sake of integration we abandon vital issues of the Albanian nation such as Kosovo, North Macedonia, the rights of Albanians. Why? For the sake of integration. I have the impression that if you ask Albanians, they would not want integration at the expense of the interests of the Albanian nation more broadly. The Albanian government has historically tried to present integration as its own attribute, I am the one who is leading you, but in fact you do not deserve it. And this bothers me a lot. So the way it is being treated is not for Albanians to have a legal state, for legal issues to be resolved. If there were a drone to fly around, you would see that Albania looks more like a Middle Eastern country. Integration into the EU, a fellow diplomat told me "when you no longer want to enter the EU", I am not saying that we will reach this point, but this is the goal. The thing is how much Europe we have in "Albania," he said.