Albanian-Greek Relations Beyond Stability

By Jerina Zaloshnja
The recent visit by the Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha to Greece, his first official visit since he came to office, fully reconfirmed the stability reached in Albanian-Greek relations. Finally, fifteen years since the two ancient Balkan neighbours re-discovered each other, what could definitely be referred to, is the stability that has been attained in these bilateral relations. Irrespective of the fact that the two countries may have totally different opinions or interpretations of issues, the stability that has been attained in these relations cannot be jeopardized. A quick backward glance over these last fifteen years, since the collapse of the communist regime in Albania, and you can clearly see that what has been lacking from Albanian-Greek relations has been precisely stability. Time and again, Albanian-Greek relations have been hit by episodic crises, but have finally entered the safe waters of accommodation and stability. For example, in 1994-1995, Greece, as an EU member vetoed and blocked a financial packet of the EU for Albania, but in 2002, Greece was one of the main supporters for the opening of talks between the EU and Albania for the SAA, an agreement finally concluded in June this year. In his meeting with the Speaker of the Greek Parliament in Athens two days ago, the will of the Greek side was vocalized to ratify this Agreement, following its ratification by the European Parliament only a few days ago. There have been episodes when a spirit of mistrust has predominated over the bilateral relations, even for a short while, and there have also been cases, when stands or actions have been adopted similar to those of the Cold War period. No matter how brief, the aggravation of relations between the two countries was inevitably accompanied by operations of Albanian emigrant workers being rounded up and shunted back to Albania. However, almost ten years on, the Greek Governments have launched a series of legislative reforms regarding the status of foreign workers in Greece, which naturally includes the Albanians, who make up the overwhelming majority of emigrant labour. According to a recent study carried out by the Agricultural University in Athens, Albanian labour saved Greek agriculture from ruin, but on the other hand, several hundreds of thousands of Albanians also saved themselves and their families from poverty, unemployment and were welcomed by Greek businesses. Further more, a number of misconceptions have dissolved, due to a dynamic political dialogue the Left or Right wing governments, which have replaced one another in the two countries during the last fifteen years of the rebirth of relations between the two countries, at the end of the long and absurd isolation imposed by communist Albania. But even more than the political dialogue between the administrations, the disintegration of the misunderstandings was the result of the impetuous development of economic relations and the growing social communication between the two societies. The conspiratorial theories that seem to have been born in the Balkans and which have not been lacking either in the modern relations between the two countries, are now being replaced by normal, political dialogue. For example, in Greece, the Democratic Party of Albania and its leader were for a long time perceived as a nationalist leadership. However, while there was a cycle of crises going on between the two countries, when the DP was in office in Albania and Berisha was President, the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Albania and Greece was negotiated and signed during the government of Mr. Berisha.
In Albania there existed the perception that the socialists are pro-Greek, however, all the arguments used to back this so-called theory, could today be used against the Democratic Party in office.
A realistic spirit has more and more begun to predominate Albanian-Greek relations, something which has refuted all the conspiratorial theses and many misconceptions. It appears that it is precisely this realistic spirit that has led to the stability in bi-lateral relations. But we also recall that relations between the Balkan countries are now developing and progressing in the context of the Europeanization process, and especially when it is a question of relations between two Balkan countries, one of which is a member of the EU and NATO and is a developed country.
But, if we do have a reconfirmation of the stability in Greek-Albanian relations, the lack of new initiatives could transform the current stability in these relations to a status quo, which although it may not have negative implications, in the final account this does not spell progress. Both Prime Ministers, Berisha and Karamanlis have voiced readiness to strengthen bilateral relations. At the same time, both countries are on the look out for new initiatives and ideas. The Greek President Papulias, who knows Albania from communist bunkers time, proposed linking the two countries by a new railway network. Practically speaking, the materialization of this idea would be a huge investment in the strengthening of economic relations and human communication. On the philosophical plane, the idea of a railway network mirrors the need for relations to progress beyond the stability levels that have been attained. The agenda of meetings between the two Prime Ministers appeared to be overloaded with meetings on economic issues, a result of which was also the signing of an agreement in the field of energy. A number of political issues seem to have been pushed back into the outskirts of attention, or perhaps the two sides have chosen another way to address them: postpone facing them and move towards their solution by first cushioning them by strengthening economic relations.