An important few weeks loom for Albania and its church. The EU will decide next month whether the country meets its standard for candidacy — a last step before full membership.
Joining the EU would be good news for Albania economically and for the church as religious freedom would be guaranteed.
Albania’s bid for EU candidate status was turned down in 2010 and the 27-member group required that Tirana enact further reforms, including electoral reform, improving public administration and the rule of law, and battling corruption and organised crime while resolving property rights and other issues.
The Boston Globe reported that an important hurdle was overcome earlier this month when the opposition Socialists ended a lengthy boycott in parliament (pictured below) in protest of alleged irregularities in the vote count in local elections in May — allegations Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s Democratic Party of Albania has denied.
The Socialists ended the boycott specifically to help pass the EU-mandated reforms.
The dispute developed out of Tirana’s May 8 mayoral election, when opposition and governing party candidates were separated by just a handful of votes. Opposition supporters held rallies to protest over alleged voter fraud.
The final result showed Lulzim Basha winning with 93 more votes than opposition candidate Rama and Berisha claims there was no manipulation of results or irregular counting.
The Socialists control 65 of parliament’s 140 seats, but its support is necessary for approval of some legislation that requires a three-fifths majority. It remains unclear whether the Socialists will back all the required draft legislation.
But the Prime Minister was very upbeat about the future. “My country has changed,’’he said in comments on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly that begins this week. “We have a very friendly climate now.’’
He said Albania, which became a member of NATO in 2009, had come a long way in recent years and was an attractive place for foreign investors.
This small Balkan country once ruled by communists who until 1990 banned contact with the outside world, has been working to improve its government and banking infrastructure and ease regulatory burdens for investors, he added.
Frank Wisner, international affairs adviser for Patton Boggs law firm, told the Globe the fact that Albania was able to resolve the mayoral dispute without outside intervention and that the country has shown no desire to expand its borders indicates a new stability.
Last week, Italy and Greece’s foreign ministers traveled to Albania to push the country’s divided political leaders to pass the reforms required for EU candidacy.
The story of the Albanian church is told in God's Secret Listener, published by Lion/Monarch/Hudson. To buy an autographed copy for the special price of £6 plus postage email John@jbutterworth.plus.com
To read my other book blog go to http://thelionhotelbook.blogspot.com
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