2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  The second phase of this reform should aim at improving the education and know-how of the labour force, creating a legal, political, administrative and fiscal environment that attracts foreign developments and encourages domestic ones, and increasing the integration of Albania’s economy with the regional and European development infrastructure. Third, the opening of accession negotiations with the EU should be viewed as a primary instrument for the advancement of Albania’s development. The Bank of Albania judges that the fulfilment of the criteria for opening accession negotiations and the rigorous implementation of reforms that this process imposes should be the focus of the entire political spectrum in Albania. Thank you for your attention! 3/3  BIS central bankers' speeches
Net trade on the other hand has performed less strongly; while it did support growth immediately following the referendum and in response to the  7  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  7  accompanying depreciation, that boost has now come to an end, and slowing trade is now dragging on growth. Chart 7: G7 business investment  Chart 8: Business investment compared with previous recoveries Indices: peak in GDP = 100  Percentage changes on a year earlier  20  180  EU Referendum Act  15 160  10 5  140  0 120  -5  2008  100  -10 -15  80  -20 -25 2007  60 2009  2011  2013  G7 (ex. UK)  2015  2017 UK  0  5  10  15  20  25  30  35  40  Quarters since pre-recession peak in GDP  At the same time, business investment has been strikingly weak. Investment growth was already slowing ahead of the Brexit referendum (Chart 7). Following the referendum it has come to a complete stop. In fact the level of business investment has actually fallen slightly over the past three years – that is despite a supportive global environment and accommodative financial conditions that have supported growth in other countries, and in contrast to the 7%-plus annual growth we were forecasting ahead of the referendum.