By Henri ȩli
In anticipation of the arrival of the delegation of the Council of Europe, the subject of the Internationals re-emerged and once again there were lengthy debates on the Albanian public scene on the role the Internationals play. Even though the latest problem between the government and the opposition, related to the last elections, indicated that the presence of the Internationals is still an indespensibility, there is one thing that must be kept firmly in mind: the Internationals are present, but this presence should come from a new angle and in a new light, in step with the stage Albanian democracy has reached twenty years down the track. More than to merely mediate or be the arbiters of sides in a normal political conflict, like in any other democracy in Europe, the role the Internationals play today is of value for another reason: Does does this level of crisis in Ruling Majority-Opposition relations impact on the progress of Albania’s European integration? This is the fundamental issue which is really worthwhile keeping a finger on. If all these developments in relation to government-opposition discord, even those connected with the standards of the 28 June 2009 general elections, don’t have any impact on the calendar of European integration, on the progress rates or essential steps along the way in this process, then we are within the boundaries of a functioning democracy complete with natural problems, evolutionary steps, but all the same within a democratic system. If this conflict does have an impact with consequences to the integration process, if it causes delays or deviation from the essential progress towards the EU, then the issue is realistically a serious issue and must be addressed. Within this dimension however, there is room for real dialogue and crucial concessions by both sides so that the deadlock is overcome and the advance the country makes in the process of inetgration is real. For the moment things are not clear: there is still no comprehensible declaration, in any credible form or shape from any voice of authority of the EU or from any of the leading governments of the EU countries defining whether or not the current crisis in Albania has had or will have any tangible impact on the integration process. For the time being this places the government in a comfortable position to be able to negotiate the crisis. But is it clear what lies ahead in the near and slightly more removed future in the event that this crisis continues with the same intensity for at least another six months? Will the visa regime be lifted according to plan? Will there be any advancement of Albania’s candidate status to the EU in the normal manner? The Government must provide the Albanian citizens with the answers to these questions to avoid penalizing the future of the process of integration, in conditions where it has every possibility of making the respective concessions, including those of a”constitutional nature,” to find a solution, not only to the issue at hand, but also long term; the government must provide full assurances to the opposition and public opinion on the future of standards of free elections in this country. Should the visit by the CoE delegation to Tirana be viewed as a normal procedure conducted by a European institution in a member country, nothing more or nothing less, or should it be read as a sign of alarm that the future of integration could be somehow penalized by everything that is happening? Beyond this debate about the visit of a handful of Internationals of a higher ranking than the Ambassadors we have here on an every day basis, this is just the inflation of very tedious subjects in the equally lacklustre season Albanian politics finds itself in today.
