FLASH
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Albanian transnational crime groups play a major role in the trafficking of cocaine, heroin and cannabis throughout Europe and have great economic power in such a small country...
Opposition politicians in Albania risk prosecution after setting fires and throwing smoke bombs in Parliament to sabotage a series of key debates.
The latest incident on Monday came after members of the opposition Democratic Party refused to allow Parliament security guards to search them for flammable materials before attending the session. After the clash with the Guard, the politicians started lighting the flares.
On November 20, Sali Berisha, a former prime minister and president as well as the leader of the Democratic Party, protested his corruption charges, which he has dismissed as politically motivated.
His MPs lit cigarette lighters to disrupt debate on the 2024 budget and set up a barricade of chairs at the podium.
The latest incident stems from a long-running battle between Rama's Socialist Party and its bitter rivals in the Democratic Party.
" Berisha claims political persecution from Rama for a series of accusations of corruption ," said a Western diplomat based in Tirana, who asked not to be identified for diplomatic reasons. " It's a bitter and long-running dispute between rivals who seem to hate each other, which has become a bit of a distraction as Albania works towards EU membership ."
The small Balkan nation has struggled to clean up its international reputation for criminal activity and corruption as Rama focuses on EU integration and turning Albania into a tourist destination.
" Rama has to navigate a divide between running a poor country in southern Europe that wants to integrate with the EU and fighting the organized crime elements that largely dominate the country ," said an EU law enforcement official who tracks cocaine trade. " Albanian transnational crime groups play a major role in the trafficking of cocaine, heroin and cannabis throughout Europe and have great economic power in such a small country ."
The official said that Albanian criminal groups control a large part of the cocaine trade between South America and the northern European ports of Belgium and the Netherlands.
" Most of the operations of these cartels are spread throughout Europe through Albanian groups, as Albania itself plays a key role in money laundering and investing mainly in the construction of drug profits. Rama cannot ignore this economic power, so there are frequent political clashes," he said.
In October, Albania was removed from the international money laundering watch list, after a four-year period on that list.
" We think they are trying, but there are still significant signs that the economy remains vulnerable to illegal activity ," the EU police official said.
This summer, analysts noted that the Albanian currency (lek) had risen significantly against the euro. While government officials credited increased tourism and foreign investment for the euro surplus, political and financial analysts suspect that illicit money flows played a major role.
"The strengthening of the lek came from informal economic factors, or to say in Albanian: from the informal or criminal economy," said analyst and political commentator Neritan Sejamini in an interview in October. / Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Vice.com"
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