Schinas meets Beleri in Strasbourg
Fredi Beleri, a member of Albania’s ethnic Greek minority who was elected last month to the European Parliament, met in Strasbourg with the vice-president of the Commission, Margaritis Schinas, shortly before he assumed his duties in the plenary session.
The two officials discussed the priorities of the new political cycle and the importance of rights and freedoms as a component of the pre-accession process for all candidate countries.
“It was with special joy and emotion that I welcomed Fredi Beleri to Strasbourg shortly before he officially assumed his duties. We discussed the priorities of the new political cycle and the importance of the rule of law in all candidate countries for accession. Europe equals freedom,” Schinas noted in a post on X.
Beleri, who holds dual Greek and Albanian citizenship, was arrested before the May 14, 2023 municipal elections in Himare, a town in southern Albania, for vote-buying and convicted shortly after. Greece’s ruling party included him in its European election ticket earlier this year.
Schinas was in contact with Beleri throughout his imprisonment and played a key role with his public statements and with behind-the-scenes contacts in the efforts to free him.
Albanian authorities allowed Beleri to attend the opening session of the new EU assembly in Strasbourg, granting him a five-day leave.
