(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 09 SET - "We plan is to close all the negotiating chapters for EU membership by next year," Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha said in Trieste on Wednesday. "It is a very ambitious goal, and the process is highly bureaucratic, but we are doing our homework. We know there is still work to be done and that there is a gap between candidate countries and member states. We are building a bridge. We have a plan, and our goal is the European Union." Hoxha was speaking at "The Balkans Meet in Trieste," a conference organized by ANSA news agency during the 34th General Assembly of the Association of Balkan News Agencies - Southeast Europe (ABNA-SE), under the patronage of the Central European Initiative. "Italy is the most beautiful country in the world," he said at the start of his remarks, adding that Albania has "a special relationship with every Italian government." "Trieste is our gateway to Europe. It is not simply a meeting point." Reviewing Albania's EU accession process, which began in 2003 and reached a turning point in February 2022, Hoxha said: "As of October 14, 2024, we had not opened a single chapter with the EU. Today all 43 are open, and three were closed in July." "Albania now aligns itself with every EU decision even though we are not yet a member. Albania also adopts every sanction adopted by the EU." He also noted that "there are no political parties in Albania opposed to joining the EU." "We expect the European Union to keep its word," Hoxha remarked, adding that Albania's priority is "not to lose momentum." Asked about relations with Serbia, Hoxha acknowledged that "there are differences," including over Russia's role in the war in Ukraine. "But we are part of the same region, and we need to find ways to work together," he added. He underlined, however, that relations with Serbia "will never come at the expense of Kosovo, democracy or democratic resilience." "We condemn the glorification of Mladić. It is an insult to the victims and does nothing to promote reconciliation or progress," he stressed. Turning to the possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union, Hoxha urged EU institutions to "be clear about the methodology" governing accession. "If there is a different methodology for Ukraine, that is fine, but we want to know. If the rules change, they should change for everyone," he said. He then added: "This is not a race with Ukraine to see who joins first. We are racing against ourselves, and we do not have a second to lose." (ANSA).