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OP-ED

Albania, the 'Jewish colony' of Europe

Politiko 2022-07-19 09:58:44

Alfred Lela

Today the first Intergovernmental Conference is held in Brussels. After the unblocking that the Bulgaria and North Macedonia parliaments did to the accession process, read the opening of negotiations, it seems that Tirana and Skopje are returning to the negotiating table as hosts, "deserving" and desiring a European OP.

I emphasize Tirana and Skopje, not Albania and North Macedonia, to underline a thread of alienation between the two countries with the process in question. Turned more into a technicality, as a language and an obstacle to be overcome by the governments of the two countries, within the framework of internal self-promoting political processes, the EU has been stripped of the first and long-standing meaning that the respective populations, especially the Albanians, gave it association with him.

It must be admitted that, in this increasingly mechanical relationship, a tangible and visible benefit, free movement, through inclusion in the European visa regime, has also played a role.
Since the Albanians got out of the long and depersonalizing queues in the front or back yards of the embassies, Europe no longer serves as either a stick or a carrot. It can be appreciated, touched, visited, belittled, starting all over again from the beginning.

After canceling the citizen longing for Europe scheme, all the tension has passed to the political establishment and especially the current government. At a time with so many disintegrations, paradoxically, the lack of integration, like that in the club of European countries, stands out.
In Albania, where everything stands out, even more, the lack of even one integration step in 8 years looks like a crater whose bed is filled only by pathetic speeches with Europe, where the credo of the beginning seems outdated and European integration is constantly being uploaded.

The Albanian government has been powerless to change the paradigm, both externally and internally. Forced to play within its limits, i.e. to accept the paradigm, even though it does not (currently) work for it, but in a way against them, Rama and his people have tried to think outside the box, going so far outside of it, as more than one creation-destruction process built an echo chamber (echo chamber) for itself. Integration, in this self-comforting pr-i space, lost all meaning and turned into a mascot distributed to all those who believed more in the 'party' of cold and hard facts.

This repertoire recorded, for example, a famous tweet of the prime minister, where the drums of the party were broken, in honor of the opening of the negotiations four years ago. Or further, a 'referendum' or 'national consultation' where the Albanian citizens were asked for their opinion on whether they were in favor of secession from North Macedonia or not. The creation of the idea of a region with two integration speeds, as more than a decade ago there was talk of a Europe of two speeds, north, and south, was not done as a response to the great paradigm of integration, but to the idea of internal political disintegration. One must always invent an anti-failure recipe.

After crossing the minefield of these eight years of non-integration, the opening of negotiations on July 20 should not be seen as a happy ending. The chances are that the talks will be opened for Albania, but also for the Greek calendars.

The Rama government has neither its own records nor global trends in its favor. Albania has become an easily avoidable country. It does not offer resistance like Serbia, nor is it a country where history can make war at any time, like North Macedonia. It is not Christian like Croatia and Slovenia, which joined much earlier, nor is it a ready pocket for the next baby of the Russian kangaroo in Europe's lower peninsula.

Albania is a political artifact packaged as a 'once and for all ally'. In this sense, the relationship with America and Europe is like the Jews with God. He has their promise of protection, but God knows when the settlers will have a state on the continent.

*This article is part of the series of articles about European integration, of the Albanian
Media Institute, in the framework of the Transition Promotion Program of the Czech Republic.