TIRANA, Feb. 21 – Albania’s head of state, President Ilir Meta, has denied a request by the government to hand over final decision-making to the executive branch on a major agreement with neighboring Greece, arguing there needs to be more information provided.
After a round of consultations with relevant political actors and experts, President Meta published a response to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in which he said all conditions must be fulfilled before he can authorize further negotiations with Greece concerning the new maritime border agreement.
In his letter, Meta requested a better definition of the negotiations’ object requiring his full authorization, as well as for the MEFA to provide additional missing information concerning negotiations.
Meta also asked the MEFA to hand over the list of official negotiators during the process, as the group, he noted, should consist of the country’s top-notch experts in each of the negotiation fields, able to both decently represent Albania and protect the country’s best interests.
The third and final of Meta’s conditions for giving authorization was additional information on the negotiations’ standards and methodology.
The MEFA did not straightforwardly comment on the president’s denial, however, a spokesperson said there would be an official answer in writing to president.
Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati had earlier said President Meta needed to give the government the full sovereign power of head of state in order for the negotiations to be completed.
“Work will begin the moment full authority is granted. According to international law, I have asked for authorization, not full authority, but authorization for the work to begin. After negotiations end, we will again need the president’s authorization to sign the agreement, and on a third stage, when the agreement gets approved in parliament, the president has the right to decree or reject the agreement,” Bushati told local media.
President conducts consultations
President Meta’s press office said the head of state had been consulting with a wide variety of actors, ahead of making a decision on who has full authority to sign off on talks with the Greece.
These consultations took place with several of Albania’s former presidents during the weekend, as well as the vice deputy of the parliamentary foreign policy group Tritan Shehu.
Local media reported the meeting focused on the president’s power over this type of agreement and the best path of action to follow, with former presidents Bamir Topi and Rexhep Meidani expressing optimism towards negotiations and Shehu saying any form of direct negotiation should be avoided.
On the Greek side, it is Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras who must approve continuation of negotiations with Albania, Greek media reporting he has already granted authorization for the last rounds of negotiations.
Topi told local media the meeting with Meta was constructive, as he noticed general good will for the negotiations with Greece to move forward.
“I was made familiar with the material the foreign minister sent to the president. One of the suggestions I gave to President Meta was the importance of fulfilling constitutional obligations, which means the Parliamentary Commission of Foreign Policy and National Security should be involved after each round of negotiations,” Topi said.
He added it’s important for the new agreement to not overlook the president’s full authority like the 2009 agreement did, resulting in its annulment.
Shehu, on the other hand, objected any direct negotiations with the Greek part.
“My current judgement is that the best path to reach this type of agreement with Greece would be to pass the issue over to the International Court of Justice. Both sides, through mutual understanding, ask the International Court of Justice in the Hague to define international borders based on the international right,” Shehu reportedly told Meta.
Shehu also said the government has already acted unconstitutionally in negotiations by failing to seek Meta’s full authority since the process started.
Former President Meidani, who also personally met with Meta, didn’t provide extensive information on the conversation, saying it is up to president Meta to do so and adding that preliminary consultations are a normal procedure in situations like this.
Experts worry over divided front
As the public cash between the president and government takes place, international relations experts worry about its effects on Albania’s image and what it tells about how well the state functions. This is on top of issues dealing with transparency.
At this point it is not yet clear whether Albania and Greece are still negotiating or whether they have reached an agreement in several meetings held between the two foreign ministers and various experts. If the statement made by the Greek side are to be believed, it seems that an agreement has been negotiated but the terms have not only not been made available to the Albanian public, they have also been kept hidden to high Albanian officials, including the president and opposition parliamentary leaders.
Regardless of ongoing partisan arguments, experts point out that neither the president nor the parliamentary committees on foreign affairs or security were consulted. The situation is not the same on the Greek side, where all concerned parties have been informed.
