Greece and Albania try to address new and old problems, as Greek president makes first high-level official visit in years
TIRANA, Nov. 5 – Trying to address cool relations marred by old and new problems, Greek President Karolos Papoulias visited Albania this week, making the first official visit of its kind by a Greek leader in years.
The visit follows a long period of stagnation in relations between the two neighboring countries, conditioned by recent disagreements over the shared maritime border and older issues relating to the border region, some dating back to the end of WWII.
However, both sides agree it is in their shared interests to move the relationship forward.
“My visit gives me the opportunity to give a new impetus to relations between the two nations, supporting those elements that unite us,” President Papoulias said during his trip to Tirana. “This is in the interest of our two countries but also of the region.”
The Greek president also promised Albania will have Athens’ “energetic support for its European integration process, as it has done without wavering in the past.”
It is a message well-received in Albania. President Bujar Nishani said in a joint press conference with his counterpart that relations between the two countries should not be dominated and defined by the problems of the past but a joint European future.
However beyond diplomatic statements for a commitment to strengthening relations between Albania and Greece, the two countries still face tough issues. Each country is looking to address issues that are politically challenging – including a desire by the Greece to expand and define its maritime territory in the Ionian as well as Albania’s push to have Greece recognize property rights of Albanians expelled from Greece 80 years ago.
Sides open to discussions on maritime border
Albanian and Greek officials agree that discussion need to take place in order to overcome an impasse in relations, and the Greek president visit was seen as an important step.
“The maritime delimitation between the two countries remains an issue to be resolved. [Albania] is willing to find a common solution with the Greek side in accordance with international law and the domestic laws of each country,” said President Nishani .
Albania and Greece had reached an agreement over the border in 2009, but it was struck down by the Albanian Constitutional Court. The agreement was widely seen in Albania as unfair to the country and turned into a political scandal before the courts struck it down.
Greece is looking to explore for oil and gas in the sea near the joint border and appears to be open for a technical review of the original agreement. President Papoulias said his country would offer solutions on the issue during its presidency of the European Union in 2014.
Old law irks Albania, keeps properties frozen
President Nishani also used a joint press conference with his counterparts to urge Greece to fully repeal a WWII-era law that sets a state of war with Albania, after Fascist Italy used Albanian territory to invade Greece.
While the law is clearly not implemented, it is still used by the Greek state to keep frozen the property of Cham Albanians, a community that was expelled from Greece at the end of the war under accusations of cooperating with the Nazis, community representatives say.
The Chams were stripped of Greek citizenship and become refugees in Albania, which granted them citizenship in the 1950s. The community has grown politically strong in Albania in recent years and its representatives organize protests every time Greek leaders visit – including the latest visit by the Greek president.
An expert in the relations between the two countries says Papoulias was positive in that it went without incidents and that it finally happened. Last time the Greek president was in Albania for an informal visit, in November 2005, he left the country in anger before a scheduled meeting with his Albanian counterpart, then Alfred Moisiu, because Cham protesters had come to greet him on the side of the highway.
President Papoulias has said the law was revoked in 1987, and the Greek official stance is that the law is no longer implemented. The two countries also have a friendship treaty in place – which Papoulias, back then Greece’s foreign minister, helped to develop.
The Greek government says the Cham issue does not exist and has urged the Albanian community to take their case to use the legal avenues available to them in Greek and international courts.
Greece’s ‘Albanian’ president
Born in a village near the border with Albania, President Papoulias’ history with Land of the Eagles goes all the way back to his childhood, something he commented on while visiting the southern Albanian city of Gjirokastra.
During this latest visit, Papoulias received the Honorary Citizen title by the City of Gjirokastra and delivered a speech before many residents of the area.
Considered by many as one of the Greek politicians to have worked hardest for decades to promoted Albanian-Greek relations, President Papoulias said he would continue to strive for their advancement .
“Greece will support Albania’s European journey as it has done in the past Šfor the benefit of the Albanian people,” he said.
Papoulias also held meetings with representatives of Albania’s Greek minority population and attended a mass in his honor held by the Albanian Orthodox Church.
The kids will be all right
Greece and Albania share a strong trading and human relationship, with many Greek companies investing in Albania and many Albanians living and working in Greece. But that relationship often comes with tensions over human rights and barriers at the borders.
Despite these strong relations, Greece is seen as one of the largest external threats to Albania, public opinion polls show. Albanians and the media in Tirana are also hypersensitive to any perceived unfair actions by Greek officials.
One of the most problematic issues recently has been the fact that Greek authorities had stopped hundreds of Albanian families who reside in Greece legally from crossing the border because the children of the Albanian immigrants who were born in the in Greece in the past decade were given Albanian passports with their birth place spelled in Albanian. Greece wants Albanian passports to have the names of Greek cities spelled in English, citing international treaties. (i.e. Thessaloniki versus Selanik). A temporary solution was found, and it now appears this latest visit by the Greek president has helped to move toward a permanent solution, as the issue has turned into a spat between the two countries, particularly because it has made life miserable for many Albanian families who either get stuck in Albania on their way back to their jobs in Greece or decide not to travel at all instead of risking headaches.
