TIRANA, April 27 – Featuring a superimposed picture of Gustav Klimt’s painting “The Kiss” against the walls of a war-torn Syria building on its front cover, the Europa magazine, an Albanian language publication of the Albanian Institute for International Studies, has launched its latest issue with a special section dedicated to Austria, Albania’s traditional ally since more than a century.
Speaking at a promotion ceremony, Austria’s Ambassador to Johann Sattler recalled how Austria-Albanian diplomatic relations date back to the 18th century, when Albania was still under Ottoman rule, with the opening of a consulate in Durres in 1751.
Considered the father of Albanian studies and Albanology, Johann Georg von Hahn, a nineteenth-century Austrian diplomat and explorer, also one of Ambassador Sattler’s predecessors, was one of the first to demonstrate the Albanian language’s membership in the Indo-European family.
The most important support Albania received from then-Austria-Hungary was in the critical years of 1912-1913 during the country’s independence, when the country’s existence was called into question by the Great Powers of that time.
“Austria is one of the stable partners of Albania in many fields, including investment, development support and education,” said Ambassador Sattler.
The ambassador described tourism as one of the country’s most promising sectors.
“Albania’s comparative advantage includes natural beauty, the sea and mountain tourism. A lot of Austrians are eager to explore Albania,” said the Ambassador.
Albert Rakipi, the head of the Albanian Institute for International Studies, one of the country’s top think-tanks, said Austria-Hungary and Austria hold a special historical place in Albania history, supporting the country’s independence exactly when its existence was called into question.
“Austria has also offered spectacular support to Albania in its EU integration path,” said Rakipi.
On its fifteenth issue, the Europa magazine, offering a critical approach to developments in Albania, the region and the EU, also launched its europa.com.al new website.
Now in its fourth year of publication, the Europa magazine offers a critical approach to political, economic developments in Albania and the region, with a special focus on literature and arts and dedicating special sections to Albania’s partners.
The “Europa” magazine will specifically generate a critical approach over the European integration process, and ideas, concepts and paths that must be followed to prepare Albania for European Union membership, AIIS experts say.
“The Europa magazine is a novel and pioneering publication targeting Albanian readers with the aim of encouraging a new, inclusive and critical approach to European integration, providing more space to promotion of European values including arts and culture as well as featuring thoughtful analysis on current developments within the EU,” says Alba à‡ela, the AIIS deputy director.
“Every section of this magazine has been conceptualized, designed and realized having in mind the objective of more critical thinking, open debate and valuable knowledge on EU, integration, European cultural spaces, values and provides the reader with a fresh perspective on both current events and more general trends,” she adds.
