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    Crisis-Born, Purpose-Seeking: Can the EPC Define Europe’s Strategic Future?

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    The Conclusion of the Diplomatic Mission / Ambassador Dancho Markovski: Strengthening Albania-North Macedonia Relations for a Shared European Future

    A Century of Diplomatic Relations Between Albania and Russia: Exclusive Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Albania, H.E. Alexey Zaytsev

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    The first anniversary of the appointment as Archbishop at the head of the Catholic Church/ Mons. Arjan Dodaj: Only God can be the author of our walk!

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    The Troika that  defies the West!

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    A top phone call as disappointment! Exit from Brexit! Germany at the helm! End this political shame up!

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    Building a Digital Future: President Tokayev’s Roadmap for Kazakhstan

    Ambassador of Egypt Recognizes CAA’s Constructive Role in Middle East Affairs

    “Council of Albanian Ambassadors condemns Gaza operation, calls for two-state solution”

    Alaska, a bell toll for Europe! No trade partners but adversaries! Palestina and the two states solution! When Pristina drowns in a spoonful of water!

    The Americans In, the Russians Down, and the Iranians Out: The Regional Impact of the Armenia- Azerbaijan Peace Agreement

    How Belgrade Keeps the Serb Community in Kosovo Under Political Control

    President Aliyev gives an interview to Azerbaijani media: US-Azerbaijan open new chapter of strategic partnership 

    International recognition of Palestine: Political marketing or genuine change?

    Visit to the Council of American Ambassadors Headquarters.

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    Ambassador of Egypt Recognizes CAA’s Constructive Role in Middle East Affairs

    “Council of Albanian Ambassadors condemns Gaza operation, calls for two-state solution”

    Zelensky in Brussels: A ceasefire and clear security guarantees are needed for Ukraine

    Visit to the Council of American Ambassadors Headquarters.

    China looks forward to Europe viewing bilateral ties in a comprehensive, dialectical, and developing manner: Chinese FM spokesperson

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    NATO allies agree to allocate 5% of GDP to defense by 2035

    Reza Pahlavi: “This Is Our Berlin Wall Moment” — Exiled Prince Calls for Global Support as Iran Nears Regime Collapse

    Where does Donald Trump stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

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  • Home
  • OP/ED

    The world goes on as usual – unpredictably

    Palestine is decisive for peace in Middle East!

    Azerbaijan dismisses claims of involvement in Israel-Iran conflict

    Elite Purges: Internal Conflict or External Design?

    Trump’s Threat of U.S. Intervention in Iran Exposes Roots of Critics’ Fears

    Crisis-Born, Purpose-Seeking: Can the EPC Define Europe’s Strategic Future?

    Serbia’s Request to the ICJ Turned Resolution 1244 into a Closed Chapter and Kosovo’s Independence into an Internationally Recognized Reality

    Unpredictable world

    Promoting Arab Culture and Language in the Framework of Cultural Diversity and Dialogue.

  • Interview

    “Diplomacy, Not War”: Palestinian Ambassador to Albania Calls for Justice, Peace, and Global Action for Gaza

    Exclusive: “Even After Tito – Tito”/ Ambassador Zlatko Kramarić on Authoritarian Legacies and Democracy’s Future in the Balkans

    The Conclusion of the Diplomatic Mission / Ambassador Dancho Markovski: Strengthening Albania-North Macedonia Relations for a Shared European Future

    A Century of Diplomatic Relations Between Albania and Russia: Exclusive Interview with the Russian Ambassador to Albania, H.E. Alexey Zaytsev

    Exclusive/ The chairman of the Freedom Party, Ilir Meta: “The will of the citizens will triumph in Albania, as it did in North Macedonia”

    Exclusive/ The Russian Ambassador to Albania Mr. Mikhail Afanasiev: Russia only aims to end that war started by the West in Ukraine

    Exclusive/ Skopje’s top diplomat to Tirana, Dancho Markovski: OSCE Chairmanship a Project of National Importance for North Macedonia

    Exclusive interview of Croatian Ambassador Zlatko Kramaric: ‘There is progress in Croatian-Albanian relations, but it is still not enough’  

    The first anniversary of the appointment as Archbishop at the head of the Catholic Church/ Mons. Arjan Dodaj: Only God can be the author of our walk!

  • Realpolitik

    The Troika that  defies the West!

    Alaska, a bell toll for Europe! No trade partners but adversaries! Palestina and the two states solution! When Pristina drowns in a spoonful of water!

    Geopolitical equation with several unknowns!

    Summit G 6+1! The historic Summit and Trump show! Zelensky loses 0:2! Winners and losers of the 12 day war!

    Chancellor Merz passed “the exam”! Political stupidity! 5 per cent or study Russian! The Firing East!      

    A top phone call as disappointment! Exit from Brexit! Germany at the helm! End this political shame up!

    That’s it! The quartet of hope! Shame on Kosovo! The Summit of a Community without Identity!

    Only praises and prolises for Meloni! Facts versus untruths! Immediate ceasefire and genuine peace, no deal for new occupation! Back after 60 years !

    US nuclear tariff bomb!! Europa fires back! NATO ok, but with or without Article 5? Kallas urges reforms!

  • Current Events

    Building a Digital Future: President Tokayev’s Roadmap for Kazakhstan

    Ambassador of Egypt Recognizes CAA’s Constructive Role in Middle East Affairs

    “Council of Albanian Ambassadors condemns Gaza operation, calls for two-state solution”

    Alaska, a bell toll for Europe! No trade partners but adversaries! Palestina and the two states solution! When Pristina drowns in a spoonful of water!

    The Americans In, the Russians Down, and the Iranians Out: The Regional Impact of the Armenia- Azerbaijan Peace Agreement

    How Belgrade Keeps the Serb Community in Kosovo Under Political Control

    President Aliyev gives an interview to Azerbaijani media: US-Azerbaijan open new chapter of strategic partnership 

    International recognition of Palestine: Political marketing or genuine change?

    Visit to the Council of American Ambassadors Headquarters.

  • Top News

    Ambassador of Egypt Recognizes CAA’s Constructive Role in Middle East Affairs

    “Council of Albanian Ambassadors condemns Gaza operation, calls for two-state solution”

    Zelensky in Brussels: A ceasefire and clear security guarantees are needed for Ukraine

    Visit to the Council of American Ambassadors Headquarters.

    China looks forward to Europe viewing bilateral ties in a comprehensive, dialectical, and developing manner: Chinese FM spokesperson

    The NATO Summit in 2027 will be held in Tirana.

    NATO allies agree to allocate 5% of GDP to defense by 2035

    Reza Pahlavi: “This Is Our Berlin Wall Moment” — Exiled Prince Calls for Global Support as Iran Nears Regime Collapse

    Where does Donald Trump stand on the Israel-Iran conflict?

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Home ENGLISH

Ethnic Greek imprisoned in Albania hopes his election to European Parliament will boost rule of law

29 June, 2024
in ENGLISH, English Top News
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By Nicholas Paphitis

An Albanian prison cell wouldn’t rank high among choice spots to run a successful campaign for election to the European Parliament.

Fredi Beleri, a member of Albania’s ethnic Greek minority, had no choice. Last year, he was elected mayor of a town in southern Albania – a candidate to join the European Union – but lost his office and is now serving a two-year sentence for vote-buying in that election.

The case soured relations between the Balkan neighbors and led to the dual Greek-Albanian citizen’s election on June 9 to represent EU member Greece in the European Parliament. He ran on the ticket of Greece’s governing center-right party.

“I know (my election) will help put a spotlight on a major problem Albania faces, which is the rule of law,” Beleri told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday from prison.

“Here, the judiciary is the long arm of politics,” he added. “I think these problems must be brought to the fore – lack of respect for the Greek ethnic minority’s rights, such as the right to property … and to be governed by the people it elects.”

Beleri’s election isn’t unique. An Italian leftwing activist held in pretrial detention in EU member Hungary was released after her election to the European Parliament on an Italian party’s ballot.

Members of the legislature enjoy substantial legal immunity from prosecution within the 27-state EU, even over alleged crimes committed before their election. But Albania is not an EU member, and unlike Beleri, the new Italian member of the European Parliament had not been convicted in court.

Athens described Beleri’s detention and trial as politically motivated and implied Albania’s prospects of joining the EU would suffer. The case is complicated by fractious Balkan politics, minority rights and property disputes on a prime coastal stretch of what’s marketed as the Albanian Riviera, the top tourist destination in the country.

Some 10 million tourists visited the small country last year, contributing about a fifth of the economy.

“I had no intention of entering politics in Greece, it was because of the need to highlight this huge problem,” Beleri said. “Anybody who knows me knows for sure that I would prefer to have been mayor.”

Beleri, 51, was arrested two days before the May 14, 2023 municipal elections in Himare, on the Albanian Riviera, 220 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of the capital, Tirana. He was charged with offering some 40,000 Albanian leks ($390) to buy eight votes.

He won with a 19-vote lead, backed by the ethnic Greek minority party and others opposing Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s governing Socialists. But he never took office, being detained until his court conviction in March. An appeals court upheld the ruling on Tuesday.

Beleri denies the charges, claiming that Rama targeted him to keep control of Himare, and that judges ignored evidence in his favor. Albanian officials strongly reject his claims, citing the independence of the judiciary.

Judicial corruption has long plagued post-communist Albania. The system recently underwent deep reforms, following EU and US pressure to root out bribery and ensure judges are independent from politics.

In March, Albanian officials arrested Beleri’s main rival Jorgo Goro, who was appointed acting Himare mayor after the vote-buying case. Goro was charged with allegedly faking documents to obtain local land for an ex-lawmaker planning a tourist resort.

Beleri said he believes that at the heart of his case are “huge financial interests as far as tourist development is concerned.”

“But it’s also that the Albanian prime minister doesn’t want the local (ethnic) Greek population to share in that prosperity,” he said. “That’s a direct breach of our human and minority rights.”

Relations between Greece and Albania have been at times uneasy, largely over minority rights and the sizeable Albanian migrant community in Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has strongly backed Beleri, giving him a place on his New Democracy party’s ticket. Beleris won some 235,000 votes, coming fourth among the seven MEPs the party elected.

Mitsotakis’ move came as ND was struggling to staunch a leak of votes from its traditional conservative base towards small far-right parties. Greece is also at loggerheads with another small Balkan neighbor and EU hopeful, North Macedonia, and has suggested that country’s efforts to join the bloc could also suffer in consequence.

So far, the EU Commission has treated the Beleri matter as a bilateral dispute. EU membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia started in 2022 and are expected to last for years.

“I think Albania must join the European Union sooner or later, but … with the rules and the rule of law that befit a European country,” Beleri said.

Beleri’s sentence ends in mid-October. Barring an early release, he won’t join the other 704 lawmakers in the Strasbourg-based parliament for its first session on July 16.

He could, however, attend by videoconference – he’s already held such meetings with Greek MEPs – following permission from the prison authorities. [AP]

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