Mayor’s case thorn in Athens-Tirana relations
The message from Athens to Tirana in Greek Ambassador Konstantina Kamitsi’s statements to the Albanian press by was clear: The ongoing detainment of the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himare in Albania will be a thorn in the side of Greek-Albanian relations for some time to come.
The statements about a clear link between Albania’s European perspective and respect for the rule of law (blatantly violated by Beleri’s detention) have provoked a reaction in the Albanian press about “interference,” which does not hide the concern of Edi Rama’s government about the direction the case is taking.
Kamitsi was in Himare on Tuesday, when Beleri was to be sworn in as mayor, but was not allowed by the Albanian judicial authorities. Instead a meeting of the city council took place, during which control of the municipality was passed by a vote of 13-8 in favor of Rama’s Socialists, an indication of how important the municipality is considered to be for Tirana.
Athens is expected to take institutional action at the level of EU-Albania relations. Tirana is well aware that the room for maneuver is very limited at the EU level, as the provisions describing the accession process are very clear.
