ND official to visit Albania and imprisoned mayor-elect Fredi Beleri

The chairman of the EU-Albania Joint Parliamentary Stabilization and Association Committee, New Democracy MEP Manolis Kefalogiannis, is making an official visit to Albania.

On Wednesday, July 19, he will chair a meeting of the Committee where the country’s accession path to the EU will be discussed. He will then also visit the town of Himare and its elected mayor, Fredi Beleri, who is being held on remand in a Tirana prison, in order to be informed “about the property issue and the expropriations of the properties of residents of the municipality.”

The meeting of the EU-Albania Joint Committee is attended by 28 MEPs, as well as 28 members of the Albanian Parliament. The issues that will be discussed concern the functioning of the rule of law in Albania, the freedom of the media, the fight against organized crime in Albania, good neighborly relations and the protection of minorities.

The members of the Joint Committee will have meetings with the president of the Albanian Parliament, the country’s interior minister, representatives of the opposition parties and the ambassadors of EU member-states in Albania.

According to an announcement regarding the visit, “after the European Parliament voted on the amendment for the ongoing unjust pretrial detention of the mayor of Himare, Fredi Beleri, the issue will dominate Manolis Kefalogiannis’ contacts with the president of the Albanian Parliament and officials of the Albanian government.”

In the announcement it is recalled that “the European People’s Party, with the full support of the ND MEPs and the assistance of Manfred Weber (chairman of the EPP’s parliamentary committee in the EP and president of the EPP), adopted the amendment of Manolis Kefalogiannis for the immediate release of elected mayor of Himare Fredi Beleri and for the protection of the properties of the Greeks of Himare.” [AMNA]