TIRANA, November 11 – Greece has imposed the first blockade against Albania regarding the country’s integration into the European Union, due to the “Beleri” case in a mounting pressure on PM Edi Rama and his government.
Greek media Kathimerini reported on Saturday that official Athens has refused to sign a joint letter of 27 EU member states for Albania to open negotiations.
“An essential escalation of the harsh attitude towards Tirana due to the continuous violation of the rights of the imprisoned mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, is represented by Greece’s decision not to give consent to a joint letter of the 27 EU member states for the start of negotiations for the first group of membership funds,” said the Greek daily.
Although a formula was found to advance negotiations on this specific chapter with North Macedonia, after Bulgaria accepted the compromise proposal presented by the Spanish presidency, this was not done for Albania.
“The candidacies of Albania and North Macedonia are connected, so this development constitutes a practical separation of the two candidacies,” the report pointed out. However the Beleri case was not mentioned in the EC progress report on Albania.
In the meantime this approach of Greece could be changed if Edi Rama changes his stance towards the case, said the report. “It is clear that Athens can revise its position if Tirana moves forward to show that there is room for discussion and not a show of force on the part of Mr. Rama, inside or outside.”
Athens has requested at all possible levels that Fredi Beleri be given the opportunity to be sworn in as the mayor of Himara, which has so far been rejected by the Albanian courts, while Greek officials have persistently threatened official Tirana of the Greek move against Albania in the course of the EU accession.
The next session of GJKKO where Beleri will appear in court will take place on November 22, but in the meantime a new trial is expected to be scheduled for the special permission he is seeking to take the oath. /argumentum.al
