FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
After the Assembly of the European People's Party yesterday approved a resolution, proposed by the Greek party, part of this political grouping in the EU, regarding the case of Fredi Beller, the Greek media also reacted.
The ancient Greek EKathemerini in her analysis writes that in connection with this case, the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama was the only uninvited person at the meeting of the Balkan leaders in Athens, and for this reason, "The uninvited always lose!".
Ekathimerini's full article
The uninvited always lose. At the recent gathering of Balkan leaders and European officials in Athens, the one missing was the one not in the picture.
The attendees demonstrated their lines of communication with the European Union from the capital of the oldest member state in the Balkan neighborhood. The absentee has reason to feel like an outcast. However, if the purpose of such a meeting was to highlight the absence of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, then there is an obvious dose of flattery in his exclusion. So much fuss for the sake of stigmatizing Albania?
It's only been six months since Athens' Zappeion Hall hosted an exhibition of Rama's art – which left visitors scratching their chins in uneasy wonder – and which had come just months after Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit to the predominantly Albanian ethnic Greek. Himare – the first by a Greek prime minister in 30 years.
What happened in the meantime to explain the sudden change in climate between the two countries?
One could argue that Rama has not stopped being himself. As the case of the elected mayor of Himara, Fredi Beleri, imprisoned, has shown, even rapprochement has not been enough to improve communication between Athens and Tirana.
The fact is that there is no common language between the two countries. A simple phone call to address issues before they escalate is not in the cards.
Zappeion was useless.
Albania seems to have graduated late in the youth frenzy that has taken over many post-Soviet states. It believes it is galloping towards a Western-style growth model and hopes to strike gold with tourism, where the property rights of ethnic Greeks stand in the way. It believes that runaway growth is a shortcut to becoming a country that the international community takes seriously, even though it has failed to meet almost every other Western standard.
Albania is playing an opportunistic game, and Greece's poor handling of relations with the ethnic Greek community there may have helped it do so. However, if Albania were a more reliable neighbor, the Beleri issue would never have been allowed to evolve into the crisis it is today.
The meeting in Athens was a clear statement from Greece: We are the gateway to Europe, she said.
If this was indeed the message, then Greece is confirming that it knows what the Balkans expect from Athens. Now we have to see what we expect from the Balkans./Ekathimerini.com
Lini një Përgjigje