FLASH
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American support for the fight against crime and corruption and for the rule of law through institutions such as SPAK, GJKKO and others will continue.
The first news was the statement of the American Embassy on the elections of May 11. Delayed compared to previous statements and those of European governments, concise, squeezed to the core, conceived as a congratulation to the people of Albania, accompanied by Washington's readiness to continue the close partnership with our country, the statement clearly answers two current main questions for us, in the new era of President Trump's governance.
First question: Does the US recognize the May 11 elections? The answer is yes. One thing is celebrated that is recognized. The "sheep" people are celebrated, according to the epithets that some oppositionists use for the SP voters.
Congratulations to the people "who eat grass," according to the expression used by some opponents of the DP for Democratic voters.
Congratulations to the voters of other smaller parties.
Congratulations are also extended to those who did not participate in the voting, delegating the choice to those who did participate, whether by abstaining in protest or as a sign of indifference.
The second question: Are they forgetting us across the Atlantic, or will we no longer have the status of close relations with the most benevolent country of the Albanian nation throughout history? The answer is no. As far as the US is concerned, the hand of special friendship remains extended. The hand of the Albanian people and political Tirana as well. Even more so now when the DP is being invested in terms of pro-Americanism, just like other parties, and when America itself has regained the letter “r” in the speech of those who had replaced it over the last four years with the letter “l” (America- America). With confidence that they will not remove the “r” again unless something new happens in Washington.
The second piece of news is the latest statement by EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos at the Center for European Studies conference in Brussels. “We need to open another set of chapters with Albania and this will happen in June and with this we will have opened all the negotiation chapters,” she said, affirming the agreement with Prime Minister Rama to realize Albania’s marriage with Europe within her mandate, that is, within the period 2029-2030.
It does not all depend on her, of course. But this lady and the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, and the President of the Commission herself, Ursula Von der Leyen and other senior politicians of the EU and the governments of the member states have surprised us recently, advancing deadlines that even our government did not dare to pronounce until recently. Geopolitics, the new awareness that Europe is gaining in the face of developments full of unknowns, increasing cohesion within the countries of the family, without leaving pockets outside its natural space, is our great chance to make the unquenchable dream of EU integration a reality. After a long road, with many stops, interruptions, and often mental and physical injuries, we are heading towards the last station.
The government is doing its part. The opposition must do its part, by dealing with integration as a government. To lend a hand and leave a good memory, while it cannot stop the moving train of membership. The merits of one and the other will always be very small compared to the benefits of all.
Let's return to the American Embassy's Statement on the elections. We have commented at the top on what is said in its lines, without being tempted to go between the lines. (In this case, I am reminded of Curcio Malaparte, an Italian scientist with a gift of genius, who said that our difficulty in understanding Americans lies in our tendency to see in them seven-eighths of the iceberg underwater).
Everyone is free to get lost in the unspoken words of the American statement and to extract from it whatever their mind and pleasure may desire. I for one, and I believe hundreds of thousands like me, are not drawn into such exercises of fantasy politics for one simple reason: Americans themselves say what they have to say when they need to be said. For now and in the future, I am convinced that the close American-Albanian partnership is in force as a constant of a policy with deep roots that is not affected by conjunctures or transient experiments.
It means that American support for the fight against crime and corruption and for the rule of law through institutions such as SPAK, GJKKO and others will continue. Likewise, priority cooperation in the field of security. In the framework of NATO and in bilateral projects. If large investments in the economy are increased, even better.
Albania's compass is Euro-Atlanticism. If we happen to miss the radar of Atlanticism or, worse yet, if Atlanticism falls out of the binomial with Europeanism, EU membership becomes vitally important for our democracy and security as a country.
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