New Democracy Eurodeputy Fredi Beleri on Tuesday condemned the deprecating attitude of Albania – a candidate country for accession to the European Union – for the European Parliament and the protection of diplomatic missions, following an attack outside the Albanian parliament building during a visit of a European Parliament delegation to monitor Albania’s EU accession progress.
Beleri, a member of the delegation consisting of ten MEPs in a four-day mission to Tirana (October 28-31), said in a statement:
“The hate cultivated by [Albanian Prime Minister Edi] Rama against me and members of the Greek ethnic minority in Himare is unable to be contained. Unfortunately, EU candidate country Albania shows complete disdain for a leading European institution it wishes to become a member of. But also, [it shows] disdain for international treaties it has signed for the protection of diplomatic missions. I spent 16 months in an Albanian jail, these attacks cannot dampen my spirit. Albania must prove it wants and it should belong to Europe. This cannot be done if it does not heal the open wounds of democracy and its rule of law, but also if it does not respect the rights of our ethnic minority.”