TIRANA, Dec. 12 – A government decision on Tuesday to transfer to the Ministry of Tourism a significant land area on the Vlora-Saranda coastline caused a response by the Greek Foreign Ministry.
Through a statement, official Athens said it “expressed deep concern about the recent decision of the Albanian government to arbitrarily award the Ministry of Tourism land plots that include private ownership of Greek citizens.”
The Greek Foreign Ministry further said that “this decision is in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the decisions of the Albanian courts”. In addition, it follows that “the respective draft decision and draft law lead to a flagrant violation of human rights, including property rights of the Greek minority in Albania.”
The Greek diplomatic representation stated that such actions are not in line with Albania’s declared European aspirations, while also opposing the country’s obligations.
Meanwhile, the Albanian MFA has yet to issue a statement on the Greek claims.
The Albanian government delegated management responsibilities of 41 cadastral areas belonging to the Vlora-Sarandà« coastline to the Ministry of Tourism in order to use them for the sustainable tourism development.