Athens, 10 November 2022

Minister of Justice of Albania at Hellenic Parliament

A joint meeting, in the Hellenic Parliament, with the Minister of Justice of Albania Ulsi Manja, was held yesterday by the Second Vice-President of the Parliament and Chair of the Special Permanent Committee on Parliamentary Ethics Charalampos Athanasiou, the Third Vice-President of the Parliament and Chair of the Special Permanent Committee on Institutions and Transparency Athanasios Bouras and the Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice Maximos Charakopoulos.     

During the meeting, Mr Athanasiou, after congratulating the Albanian delegation on the progress of its accession negotiations with the EU, expressed Greece’s strong will to support this effort and reiterated the readiness for actual assistance in this direction. In fact, he stressed the value of an unwavering position on the part of Albania towards the West and welcomed the adoption of secondary legislation on the protection of national minorities and their right to self-determination in the neighbouring country, urging to continue the adoption of other implementing provisions.           

In the same context, Mr Athanasiou recalled the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003 and the adoption of the agenda which marked the beginning for the accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU. He also referred to the positive aspects on the agenda of last year's bilateral meetings.

In addition, Mr Athanasiou stressed the importance that the Greek side attaches to the progress of the Agreement for the submission of the demarcation of our maritime zones to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in order to use the momentum for the benefit of our bilateral cooperation. The policy on ethnic minorities was also cited as one of great importance, with the rationale of encouraging Albania to adopt the remaining implementing laws, in accordance with the European standards.

Mr Bouras added, with regard to the competence of the Committee over which he presides, that it is the Committee which ensures the monitoring of the statutory authorities, which, of course, are protected by the constitution.        

On behalf of the Chair of the Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice, it was stated that the close relations of our countries are also proved by the recent support of Albania on issues of health assistance in the midst of the pandemic. At the same time, Mr Charakopoulos underlined that Greece has the expertise to support Albania in the need for deepening into European policy, which is proven in practice on issues related to the adaptation of legislation with respect to human rights, the implementation of the EU acquis communautaire on renewable energy sources, the support of funding for the development of structures and the upgrading of key sectors for the benefit of the Albanian people.

Minister of Justice Ulsi Manja expressed his gratitude for Greece's unwavering support for his country's aim towards the European integration. He stated that Albania's strong political will towards the aforementioned goal is proven practically by its commitment for its legislation to be in agreement with that of the EU, in accordance with the relevant dictated instructions. He also noted the need for further cooperation between the two countries on issues related to human rights and justice.

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