Albanian authorities under pressure to resolve passport spelling problem before a Greek-imposed deadline.
TIRANA, Jan 5 – Tirana and Athens are looking to resolve a dispute over the names of the towns and places in Greece used in the passports of the kids of Albanian immigrants who were born there.
Athens has given a month to change the passports, a time that seems very short for thousands of residents in Greece to complete.
Some representatives of the Albanian community in Greece have come to meet with top government officials, including Prime Minister Edi Rama to speed up the process.
Albanian children born in Greece are not allowed to cross the border as they have to renew their passports. Their birthplace is written in the Albanian spelling of Greek cities, while Athens wants them be written in English, citing international regulations. The change involves spellings like “Athin뢠to “Athens” and “Selanik” to “Thessaloniki.”
Thousands of Albanian families living in Greece must complete the process within a month.
