Page 43 - bne magazine September 2023

bne September 2023 Southeast Europe I 43
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (left) with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis (centre) at an exhibition of Rama's works in Athens, two months before Himara mayor Fredi Beleri's arrest. / kryeministria.al
Detention of ethnic Greek mayor puts Albania’s EU accession progress at risk
“no way” that Albania's EU accession process will proceed when there is “such a violation of the rule of law”.
The minister disclosed that he had engaged in two "challenging phone conversations" with his Albanian counterpart Olta Xhacka about this issue, yielding no tangible results. As a result, he recently sent a letter to fellow EU foreign ministers and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell outlining Greece's stance and the impediments that Albania's actions presented to its EU integration progress.
This is not the first time the case has been raised at the level of the EU, an organisation of which Greece is a long- standing member, whereas Albania has only been a candidate country since 2014.
MEP Kostas Papadakis submitted a question to Borrell on the issue back in June, when he claimed that Beleri was “being detained at the behest of the Albanian government in an attempt
to hinder the political activities of the Greek minority [in Albania]” and asked what was being done in response to calls for his immediate release.
Borrell’s written response was that
the European Commission “does not comment on ongoing investigations and recalls the need to ensure that due process is upheld”.
On July 12, the European Parliament plenary approved an amendment
to the 2022 European Commission
bne IntelliNews
Greek politicians have stepped up their rhetoric over the months- long detention of Fredi Beleri, the ethnic Greek mayor of Himara
in Albania, warning Tirana that the country’s EU accession progress may be at risk if the case is not resolved.
Beleri was arrested ahead of the May
14 local elections in Albania, accused of buying votes, and has been in
police custody ever since. Despite his detention, he won the mayoral election in Himara, which has a large Greek minority, though he risks losing the position if he remains in prison.
The case has caused a rift between Alba- nia and its southern neighbour Greece, where top officials, including Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, current Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and his predecessor Nikos Dendias have called for Beleri’s release. Ordinary Greeks have mobilised on social media under the #freebeleri hashtag. Albanian
officials, meanwhile, insist his arrest was not politically motivated and say justice must take its course.
The latest to comment on the case was Gerapetritis. During an appearance on a Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) programme on August 8, he warned that if Albania's authorities fail to take the necessary steps to release Beleri and allow
“Beleri was arrested ahead of the May 14 local elections in Albania, accused of buying votes, and has been in police custody ever since”
him to assume his duties, there could be
a severe deterioration in the diplomatic relationship between Albania and Greece.
“[T]he Albanian side is probably shooting itself in the foot," said Gerapetritis.
The minister told ERT that there is
report on Albania put forward by the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) on the request of Greece’s ruling centre-right New Democracy. “[A] clear, resounding message was sent today from Brussels, that the tactics of the Albanian authorities against the Greek
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