Orthodox churches and the citadel of Beyrat Albania Berat
The Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, is a Balkan country in Southeastern Europe. It borders Montenegro to the north, the Serbian province of Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west and a coast on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. Despite having a troubled history, the country has been classified as an emerging democracy since the 1990s. Albania has played a relevant role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe and is continuing to work toward joining NATO and the EU. The lands that are today inhabited by Albanians were first populated in the Paleolithic Age (Stone Age), over one hundred thousand years ago. The Euro-Atlantic integration of Albania has been the ultimate goal of the post-communist governments. Albania's EU membership bid, along with the rest of the Western Balkans, has been set as a priority by the European Commission. On 2006 Albania signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, thus completing the first major step towards joining the bloc. Albania, along with Croatia and Macedonia, is also expected to receive an invitation to join NATO in 2008. The workforce of Albania has continued to migrate to Greece, Italy, Germany and other parts of Europe, and North America. However, the migration flux is slowly decreasing, as more and more opportunities are emerging in Albania itself.
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Photo credit: © Nick Haslam / Alamy / Afripics
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