TIRANA, July 19 – Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati said on Thursday that negotiations over a new maritime border deal with Greece are still underway and in no way finalized, ignoring media concerns over lack of transparency during the process.
After a Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Commission hearing on the country’s EU integration, Bushati told local media the new deal doesn’t foresee a relocation of borders either.
“Everything is based on international mandatory acts for both Albania and Greece when it comes to this issue. We have similar maritime deals with other countries, and we want to achieve the same process with Greece,” Bushati said.
The government has been criticized not just for lack of transparency during the negotiation process, but also for lack of consultation with the opposition and a much more favorable position than its predecessor, the Democratic Party, due to a currently frozen Constitutional Court that will be unable to decide whether the new deal is anti-constitutional.
Bushati said he doesn’t expect the country’s President Ilir Meta to veto the deal, as there is no need for “protagonism or blocking when it comes to this process.”
He also answered to questions concerning disagreements within the negotiating group, a part of which is alleged to have spoken against the ways the negotiations are taking place in Albania’s disfavor.
“It’s entirely normal that in a big group, like that of Albanian experts, there are arguments; there a voluminous dossier in the MEFA, over 1000 pages, that is the product of experts’ work. Different issues have always had various solutions,” Bushati said.
He again denied media and opposition claims that negotiations have ended a long time ago, saying that negotiating a new sea deal is a process that will take its time.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha has said several times the agreement was imposed to the Albanian team without proper negotiations and that it has the power to ignite old flames between the two Balkan countries.
Bushati said there are attempts to keep this deal under pressure and not release positive energy, but that the government is set to take it forward and address all open-ended issues with Greece.
