If the two small Western Balkan states have been disappointed time and again by EU leaders’ repeated postponement of talks, this time they are hoping for a breakthrough in progress towards membership.

Four outgoing and incoming EU presidents have taken the unusual step of personally urging European governments to open negotiations.

“The European Union stands before a strategic choice. Whether the EU decides now to open accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania is a test of the Union’s ability to deliver on its promises and look to the future,” states an open letter from European Parliament President David Sassoli, retiring Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Council President Donald Tusk, and Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen.

“North Macedonia and Albania did what we asked them to do,” declare the leaders, acknowledging however that “there will be a lot of hard work on reforms along the way. »

“We believe that now is the time to open accession talks with both countries,” they conclude.

The move was welcomed by Albania’s acting Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj. “A very rightful and encouraging message for a positive decision of the EU Council,” he tweeted, thanking the signatories for their “leadership and strategic wisdom”.

Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn also welcomed the leaders’ “strong stance for opening accession negotiations with both countries in October”, saying that recognising efforts made by the candidates was key to the EU’s credibility. “North Macedonia and Albania have delivered – now it’s high time that Member States deliver too!”

North Macedonia has had candidate status since 2005, but until 2018 was blocked by the lengthy ‘name dispute’ with its Greek neighbour. Albania became a candidate in June 2014, having applied for EU membership in 2009. Since 2018, the Commission has twice recommended opening talks, but each time the Council put a decision on hold.

Countries like France and the Netherlands have been particularly reluctant to take steps towards further EU enlargement. But in a hopeful sign for the two candidates, the German Bundestag last month voted to launch negotiations.

In a subsequent draft proposal for the upcoming General Affairs Council, the Finnish EU Presidency unconditionally recommended opening accession talks. In the case of Albania, it highlighted progress in achieving reforms. However, that is not the end of the story. The draft is expected to undergo changes, for example, because Germany has added new conditions to be met in advance of the 1st intergovernmental conference – due to be held later this year – and to be included in the negotiating framework. They call on Albania to demonstrate a track record in fighting corruption and organised crime, including the prosecution of high-ranking politician and officials, and reform of the public administration.

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama has in the past expressed frustration at what some see as an ideological opposition to the country’s European future. Earlier this year the Dutch Parliament declared opposition specifically to Albania’s membership. Yet public support for the EU among Albanians remains strong. An IPSOS poll published this year found that more than 92% of those questioned were in favour of EU membership, although 58% believed “they don’t like us”.

« The joint letter of the four presidents has been very much welcomed and appreciated, » said Albania’s EU Ambassador Suela Janina. « As rightly emphasised in the letter it is the time to make a strategic choice, which would be beneficial for our countries, the region of the Western Balkans and Europe as a whole. »

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Indeed, the eponymous production opening this week at the Theatre de Poche in the Bois de la Cambre is the unexpected account of one man’s journey to explore and come to terms with his background, and in doing so realise his ambition to make theatre.

Fritland was – and is – Zenel Laci’s family business. For 18 years – from the age of 14 – he worked there 12 hours a day, sometimes 7 days a week. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about twice-fried chips, fricadelles and sauce andalouse, about the streets of Brussels late at night and the characters who inhabit them. “I have been wanting to write about it for years,” says Laci. Three years ago, he set pen to paper. Now, working with director Denis Laujol he has created and performs a one-man show that captures the humour, drama and pathos of those years.

Laci’s father arrived in Belgium in 1963, after fleeing from Albania and living with his family in refugee camps for a decade. He dreamed of America and discouraged his five children from integrating into Belgian society. But instead of crossing the Atlantic, the Laci’s father stayed, and ironically established the very symbol of Belgian life, Fritland. The whole extended family was pressed into service, working backbreaking hours to win the security their father coveted.

The play started as “a sort of patchwork”, says Laci. But for nearly two years, he and Laujol have worked to select the most interesting anecdotes and create a narrative. It is above all about emancipation. Laci’s love of literature and theatre brought him into direct conflict with his family’s traditional values, until he finally broke away to take up drama studies. The harsh disapproval of his father meant that he too experienced a form of exile.

“Fritland is about becoming an adult,” explains Laujol. “Zenel and I are both great dreamers. But there comes a time when you have to act. It’s not easy to become an artist.”

Not easy indeed for Laci – who never expected to be a performer. But when the Director of the Theatre de Poche saw and liked his script, he imposed just one condition: that Laci should play himself. With a successful career as director already behind him, this will be Laci’s first time in front of an audience: a place where he feels “uncomfortable”.

Fritland articulates the pleasure in storytelling. Says Laujol: “We play a lot with the expectations of the audience. It’s a story about emigration, so there’s something tragic, but there is also a lot of humour.” The material to draw on was plentiful. Staying open sometimes until 5am, Fritland became a haven for those with nowhere else to go. Laci recalls Joseph le clochard (the vagrant), the drôle d’homme with his little bonnet who showed up at Fritland at dawn one morning and found Laci behind the counter reading a book.

“He thought that was unusual,” admits Laci, who soon discovered that although Joseph lived on the streets, he was a former French teacher. Together they discussed Laci’s writing and Joseph edited his texts. “He encouraged me, and was the first person, apart from my sister, who really showed me what literature was about – that it has power.”

I wanted to know which writer most influenced Laci. “Dostoyevsky” he replies without hesitation. “He’s a genius. He goes to the truth and has something for say at all stages of life. He tackles universal themes.” He cites a phrase from The Brothers Karamazov which had a profound impact on him: “Every human being has at some time wanted the death of his father”. In Dostoyevsky, Laci found insights into his own personal family conflict. Yet despite the bitter struggle between generations, Fritland is still a homage to his father, who is “omnipresent” in the text, says Laci. Working with Laujol, he became more aware of how the older man struggled to build his own destiny.

A few years ago, Laci set up his own Fritland Theatre Company, and it was then he decided the story had to be told. More than just a chip shop, the staging recreates a space that stirs the imagination of the audience to soar beyond steaming trays of golden frites. “Fritland is what? It’s a fritkot, it’s people, it’s potatoes, it’s Belgium. Everything is there,” concludes Laci. For at the same time it is a kind of Utopia, an imaginary country: Fritland – Neverland, the culmination of his late father’s dreams of America.

The play promises to be a discovery for the audience, with some little surprises added in to recreate the Fritkot atmosphere. It can be seen at the Theatre de Poche until 18 May.

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The Director, Zenel Laci, spent much of his youth serving chips at his family’s well-known Fritland fast-food restaurant next to the Bourse – already in those days a Brussels landmark. But it wasn’t what he wanted to do. From an early age Laci fell in love with literature and theatre, and finally got the opportunity to turn his dream into reality when – at the age of 30 – he started studies in scenography, dramatic art and production.

His parents were sceptical. Having fled Albania in 1952 during the repressive communist regime, they valued financial security in their adopted homeland. But Laci persevered. In the late 1990s, it was the brutal war in Kosovo that sparked his creative imagination. Horrified by the violence against civilians, and especially the systematic rape of women as a way of intimidating and destroying a population, he felt compelled to react.

“I have family in Kosovo, but I’m a pacifist, I wasn’t going to go and fight,” he explains. Instead, he started to research and came across the writing of Sevdije Ahmeti. As a human-rights activist in Kosovo throughout the war, Ahmeti kept an internet diary of the atrocities with the aim of alerting the world to what was going on. Her account was later published in French as ‘Journal d’une Femme du Kosovo’.

Together with writer Safet Kryemadhi, Laci wrote a play ‘Je ne suis pas une Arme de Guerre’ (I am not a weapon of war). The hour-long monologue tackles harrowing issues: rape, the disappearance of friends and the devastating loss of a child. Although prompted by the Balkan conflict, its message is universal. In wars around the world, women and girls are the targets of sexual violence.

As Laci points out, in many societies, rather than receiving help and support, ‘defiled’ women may be rejected by their own families. What can a rape victim hope for from the future? Love? Acceptance? A new start in life? The play, performed by Albanian actress Anila Dervishi with live music by guitarist Afrim Jahja, manages, despite everything, to end on a positive note.

After successful performances in Paris, at the Albanian National Theatre in Tirana, and in Kosovo itself, ‘Je ne suis pas une Arme de Guerre’ can now be seen by Belgian audiences at the Theatre Riches-Claires, rue des Riches Claires 24, Brussels 1000.

Thursday 28th of February to Saturday 2nd of March. More details here

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The symbol of Brussels folklore will be honoring Albania on the occasion of their national holiday.

Background Information

Albania proclaimed its independence on the 28th of November, 1912 in the town of Vlora (Vlorë). After 50 decades of Ottoman domination, an independent Albania was declared by Ismail Qemali, who was the first head of state.

This day coincides with the day on which Skanderbeg (Skënderbeu) raised the Albanian flag in Krujë (1443).

The 28th of November is celebrated annually as Albania’s Flag Day (Dita e Flamurit) or Independence Day (Dita e Pavarësisë). It only makes sense that this historic public holiday is celebrated by the ceremonial raise of the flag in Tirana, Albania’s capital, with the presence of all public authorities. Oblivious of the cold temperatures every year Albanians flood the main square wrapped up in flags to take part in celebrations and activities.

As with every other major holiday, the peeing boy of Brussels will wear his costume of Albania from 9 am to 4 pm.

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On Wednesday, May 16^th, at Librebook in Brussels, the writer Safet Kryemadhi offered a literary journey into the country lodged in the southwest of the Balkans. Along with editor and journalist, Kate Holman, Kryemadhi presented two of his books: Balades Littéraires en Albanie, and the most recent one, Traces de Faïk Koniza.

“I wanted to explore the links between Brussels and Albania,” said Kryemadhi. “The more I learned about Koniza’s life, the more I knew this would be part of a larger story. Albania’s renaissance at its core, including the diaspora, but also much more.”

Koniza arrived in Brussels in 1897 and found a home on Rue d’Albanie, in St. Gilles, where he lived until 1902. Considered a spokesman for the revival of Albanian identity and its language, Koniza founded the acclaimed literary journal Albania. He became friends with Guillaume Apollinaire, who is known to have praised him as “the most erudite Albanian in Europe.”

Kryemadhi is interested in the records of the people who have traveled through Albania. In his books he collects the impressions of writers such as a Valery Larbaud, Alexandre Dumas, Rose Wilder Lane, among many others. “I found it fascinating, the way Albania marked them,” said Kryemadhi. “For instance, Edith Durham, the British writer. It is known that after visiting the country, she would walk the streets of London wearing a traditional Albanian costume. That’s how much those travels changed her.”

History is at the core of Kryemadhi’s work. He unearths anecdotes that would have otherwise remained unknown, for instance the five-day reign of the German impostor Otto 1, or the story of Stiépan Zannowich who in the 18^th century pretended to be Prince Castrioto, a descendant of the national hero Skanderbeg. He writes about the Arbëreshë people, also known as Albanians of Italy or Italo-Albanians, who fled Albania between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries after the arrival of the Ottoman forces in the Balkans. Since the time of the Romans, the history of the two countries has been linked through commerce, war, the movement of people, and cultural exchange. “Raymond Queneau wrote a fictional story,” said Kryemadhi. “It was a reversal of fortunes, so to speak, because in the story, Albania declares war on Italy.”

Mountains are an integral part of his descriptions of the country. “Whenever there was an invasion, a conflict, the people who resisted fled to the mountains. It was their refuge. For me it is not possible to conceive Albania, in a literary context or otherwise, without the mountains.” There’s also the Kanun, a book that contains a set of traditional Albanian laws. It was primarily oral, published in writing only at the beginning of the 20th century.

Born in Belgium, a son of the political migration, Kryemadhi wants readers to experience Albania first hand. “There’s a lot of prejudice and stereotyping, especially from those who have never been to the country. And the curious thing is that after those people come back, they are forever fascinated by it. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve written these books.”

At the end of the event, several poems in Albanian and French were recited by Anila Dervishi and Mirela Vishnja, accompanied on the guitar by Afrim Jahja. Glasses of Raki me Arra, a traditional brandy made of nuts, was offered, as well as red and white wine from Berat.

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She was speaking at a packed meeting in the European Parliament convened by Parliament Vice President David Maria Sassoli MEP to welcome the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama and his Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati, visiting Brussels to promote the Albanian campaign for the EU to take a positive decision at the June Council meeting to open accession negotiations with Albania.

President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani welcomed the Albanian initiative, speaking warmly of the important regional and economic ties between Italy and Albania. He made it clear that this issue transcended political group differences in the house, that the Parliament was firm in its vision to support the enlargement of the EU to the Western Balkans, and looked to the European Commission to make a clear recommendation on the way forward.

Prime Minister Edi Rama stressed the efforts made and the difficulties that had been overcome to arrive at this crucial stage in Albania’s path towards its Euro-Atlantic vision. In particular Albania had undertaken a major overhaul of the justice system, and was currently going through a major transformation of the whole system of vetting and appointing judges and prosecutors. This process was under the scrutiny of international monitoring, because Albania wanted international recognition that the reforms were both real and effective. Although both Montenegro and Serbia were already well advanced in their negotiations with the EU, justice reform was an area where Albania was proud to be pioneering in the region, and showing regional leadership which he hoped would catalyse similar change in other countries in the region.

He said that Albania was now entering into a new phase of state building, and in improving democracy in everyday life for ordinary citizens. He appealed to parliamentarians to support the opening of EU accession talks in order to help Albania build a better future for the people. The opening of talks was not a goal in itself, it would be just the start of a long and painful process. This was well understood in Albania, but there was actually no other way, and the process of working towards integration would deliver a dynamism and motivation that would keep everybody in Albania working together towards the country’s strategic vision for an EU future.

Many senior parliamentarians were present at the meeting including Elmar Brok and Norbert Neuser of Germany, Andrey Kovatchev of Bulgaria, Dimitrios Papadimoulis and Giorgios Epitideios of Greece, and Elly Schlein of Italy. It was clear from the turnout and the tenor of the debate yesterday by David Maria’s friendship group for Albania that there was more than just regional support for the Commission’s strategy for the Western Balkans, there was also a strong cross-party element. This suggests encouragingly that when the Parliament gets a wind in its sails, it can be a decisive force for positive strategic action.

The European Parliament’s Rapporteur for Albania, Knut Fleckenstein, introduced a note of caution saying that in the run up to the Sofia conference on 17th May, and the final decision of the European Council on enlargement which was expected in June, there still remained much work to be done. A positive outcome could not yet be taken for granted, and it was necessary to work together to marshal all of the arguments to counter the negative thinkers, the populists, the eurosceptics and the demagogues who were arguing against expansion of the EU. He stressed that this was not a party political issue, and that the Parliament should stand strongly behind the recommendation of the European Commission, but the next few months were crucial and that if a decision was fudged, or postponed, then there was a risk that this issue could again be kicked into the long grass for many years to come.

Albanian Foreign Minister Bushati spoke of the transformational effect for Albania and its citizens of entering into accession negotiations with the EU. This important step was one of mutual self interest which would have benefits for both parties; the important thing to recognise was that Albania was serious in its vision and conviction. The act of opening negotiations would have the positive effect of delivering to Albanian citizens and to business looking for political guidance a clear perspective that would in itself deliver dynamic progress.

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Meanwhile across the Adriatic in Tirana, Albania’s opposition Democratic Party seems to be doing everything possible to spoil the party and obstruct the country’s aspirations to start negotiations with the EU.

Last weekend the opposition leader Lulzim Basha organised a rally at which he addressed his supporters in central Tirana. The meeting was peaceful enough, but with fiery rhetoric, he accused the Albanian Cabinet of links to organised crime and called for them to resign.

This was part of an orchestrated “come-back” propaganda campaign for his opposition party, initiated earlier this year to attack the Edi Rama Government. Paradoxically, it risks backfiring badly and in the process undermining the EU dream of the majority of Albania’s citizens.

Last Saturday’s political rally was a test of popular support for the opposition, which lost heavily in last year’s general election, winning less than one-third of the seats in Albania’s parliament.

Addressing his supporters at the rally, Basha called for « an anti-Mafia government that will fight organised crime, take the justice reform ahead in line with the constitution.”

But puzzlingly earlier this year his party actively opposed reform of the justice system, and obstructively boycotted the Albanian parliament.

The major reform of the justice system which is being pursued by Prime Minister Edi Rama’s administration is, in fact, an EU requirement, and involves the removal of corrupt judges and prosecutors.

His government is making steady progress in all of the five areas Brussels has specified as prerequisites before accession talks can be opened:- administrative reform, protection of human rights, the battle against corruption, reform of the justice system and tackling organised crime. In contradiction to the Government’s active programme, the opposition appears determined to derail these efforts, without regard for what is best for the country as a whole, as the political battle for power continues between the country’s two main parties.

Some commentators have suggested that the recent intensification of this political rivalry actually provides clear evidence that the implementation of reforms in Albania is working, and having an impact on real change.

Last year the Albanian parliament passed laws to reform the judicial system which radically changed the constitution and established a new vetting procedure for the judiciary. The process to reform the judiciary started with the establishment of vetting commissions, and Albania is working hard to show the EU its potential as a partner so that accession negotiations can start this spring.

Next week the European Commission is expected to publish its strategy for the Western Balkans, which will address the question of EU membership for six countries, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. Bulgaria holds the Presidency of the Council and has set a priority for their programme of work on providing an EU accession perspective to these countries. They will host on 17th May a conference in Sofia that will focus on the timetable and methodology for the enlargement of the EU to embrace the countries in the region.

The Bulgarian Presidency deserves credit for bringing forward the question of opening the EU up to the Balkan countries. The Western Balkans have been ignored for too long, and it is now time to give these countries a clear roadmap and perspective to answer their EU aspirations.

Accession negotiations are already underway for Serbia and Montenegro, which are currently tipped as the leading candidates for the next round of enlargement, and Montenegro, in particular, has made good progress.

But enlargement ambitions are anything but straightforward; there are deep ethnic fault lines that run through the Western Balkans. Progress is still needed on the peace process between Serbia and Kosovo, something that has been made more difficult following the assassination of the popular Serbian politician Oliver Ivanovic in Kosovo last month.

Meanwhile, Albania also has a strong consensus amongst its citizens to join the EU and has been consistently taking positive steps towards alignment with EU standards. The work they have achieved so far gives them a strong platform for further work to be carried out in the framework of the accession negotiations. In this respect, Albania can be considered a regional leader and deserves recognition for its progress.

The post Albania’s Opposition Tries to Block EU Accession appeared first on Brussels Express.

The city of Tirana is located in the central-west part of Albania. It is not only the most populated city in Albania, but also the administrative, economic and cultural center in the country and one of the largest cities in the Balkans. With a population of over 800,000, Tirana has become one of the busiest cities in the region with a fast growing expansion.

Tirana also is the center of the Tirana Region. From the last territorial – administrative reform in 2015, the Tirana Region (or county) incorporates the municipalities of Tirana, the municipality of Kavaja, the municipality of Rrogozhine, that of Vora and the municipality of Kamez.

All of these municipalities, cover an area that starts with the beautiful Dajti mountain on the east of the city of Tirana which is surrounded also by beautiful hills in the west and a slight valley opening on the north-west overlooking the Adriatic Sea in the distance.

With an administrative unit that is spread in a 41.8 km²  area, the city of Tirana, is beautiful from north to south and from east to west. You can start your adventure by getting the cable car to get on top of the Dajti Mountain, where you find not only an amazing view of the city, but also amazing nature sights and a plenty of other activities such as a newly open Adventure Park. But the east part of Tirana, is not only about the Dajti Mountain. There are plenty of hidden jewels in the small villages of the area. For those passionate about hiking, there are locations such as Pellumbas, the Bovilla Lake, Shengjergj, etc.

Once you start descending the mountain, you will easily get to the center of the city. Now with a new renovated city center, you can start your tour of Tirana from the National Museum, where you will find pavilions starting from antiquity to modern history. In front of the museum, you will find the statue of Gjergj Kastriot Skenderbeu, the countries national hero. The whole structure of the city center is pretty simple and easy. The main boulevard will expand in front of you making it easy to navigate the city. The boulevard ends at mother Tereza Square with the main piece of it being the Tirana University building. In the south- west part of the city, you can find the beautiful lake hills and the artificial lake of Tirana. This part of the city, being one of the few green areas of Tirana, has become a pretty popular area for the citizens of the capital wanting to escape the loud and busy city life.

What is interesting about the city of Tirana, is that it was become, in a very short period of time, after the fall of communism, from a 200,000 inhabitants city, to a more than 800,000 inhabitants. It also has kept track with modern capitals of Europe, becoming an attractive city not only for tourist but also for the youth of the country wanting a better life, better chances of an education, of employment and of a better quality life.

With the ‘Bllok” area, a former area only for the communist ruling elite, now the trendiest part of Tirana, you can not only find some of the best clubs, restaurants or bars in the country, but also probably in the Balkans. But this is not only an ‘entertaining’ area, it also houses some of the biggest and best private financial or legal enterprises offices.

With one of the youngest populations in Europe, Tirana is a fast growing city that never stops and never sleeps. It gives you a positive vibe with certainly a most welcoming population.

If you take the highway outside of the city, to get to the municipality of Kavaja, you will have to pass the municipalities of Kamez and that of Vora.

With Kamez, situated in the north-western part of Tirana, and Vora in the south-western part of Tirana, these once state owned cooperative villages have become largely populated and incorporate every service for its citizens. With modern infrastructure and jobs being created, they have become an alternative to the people who come from other cities of Albania, but cannot afford the capital life.

Some 40 minutes drive from Tirana, you can easily reach the municipality of Kavaja, centrally located in the western lowlands region of Albania. It borders Durres to the north and Tirana to the east and Rrogozhine to the south. To the west it lays the Adriatic Sea.

With the new territorial administrative reform of 2015, the municipalities of Golem, Helmas, Luz I Vogel and Synej were merged with that of Kavaja and also with the municipality of Rrogozhine, they all now belong to the county of Tirana making the region an attractive one from the mountains of Tirana, to the Adriatic Sea.

The city of Kavaja is relatively smaller than that of Tirana, with a population of almost 20,000 inhabitants, it does not compare to that of Tirana. Kavaja is becoming from a small-secluded city during the time of communism, to a more lively and diverse city offering more possibilities to its citizens.

It offers a long sea line, one of the most beautiful in the country and still yet not populated in most parts. Starting with Golem, the most busy and populated seaside area in the region, the more south the coast you go, the less populated areas you find.

As of Rrogozhina, it’s one the news cities created by the territorial administrative reform in 2015. The total population is 22,148 in a total area of 223.50 km².

A mix of sky&sand, mountains&sea, the region of Tirana, offers a vast variety of possibilities and scenery that is both beautiful and to discover. With the city of Tirana as its main attraction, you can go from a city of lights, noise and an active fast life, culturally, politically and socially, to calmer scenery in Kavaja and Rrogozhine, this region offers infinity of possibilities for tourists who can either chose to hike in the mountains of Tirana and explore the areas to those who want to camp with the Adriatic Sea as their view in Karpen in the Kavaja area.

The region of Tirana is all to discover and enjoy. The culture, the life, the food, the people and the rich history of the country, will give everyone a challenge in discovering and enjoying the city as much as possible.

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The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council which starts in January of next year has stated that a priority for their presidency will be to make progress with enlargement of the EU to embrace applicant countries in the Western Balkans. Albania has been an official applicant since 2014, and the European Commission is due to publish a report updating Albania’s progress in February.

Other applicant countries include Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Albania has made significant progress in implementing reforms of its judiciary in recent months, with help from the EU and the US, which should have a significant impact on tackling the law and enforcement agenda and the fight against corruption.

Critics say that further progress is still needed in these areas, but the Albanian Government feel strongly that they are now ready to move to the next level of EU integration. They argue that opening official talks will give the young Albanian electorate a clear future perspective of EU membership, and that this will act as a catalyst to assist the government to go deeper, further and faster with the reform process.

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