E. VENIZELOS: We met a few days ago, in Thessaloniki, on the margins of the EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Conference, and we completed our discussion here, today, in Brussels, ahead of the EU-Albania Association Conference, at which I will have the honor of representing the EU, as the current Presidency.
But we also talked about very critical bilateral issues, and today we have the opportunity to announce, jointly, that we have reached an agreement on a longstanding, very important issue, which is the use of toponyms in Albanian passports and credentials. We agreed, with full respect for international law and good neighbourly relations, on the use of toponyms acceptable to both sides, as provided for by international practice.
This resolves an issue that has inconvenienced day-to-day people whom we do not want to be inconvenienced. We are taking a step in good neighbourly relations; a step that is also naturally linked to our neighbouring country’s European perspective, in which we invest a great deal of hope. For this reason, our goal is for Albania, during the Hellenic Presidency, to officially gain the status of candidate for accession to the European Union.
So I want to thank my colleague Mr. Bushati for the work we have done; work that we will now continue on other important issues that are also of very great weight.
D. BUSHATI: The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Greece, Mr. Venizelos, and I continued the dialogue we had already initiated; a dialogue that culminated in Thessaloniki last week, mainly on the issue of toponyms. This is a situation that both governments, the Greek and Albanian governments, confronted from the outset as an issue of a technical nature. It is an issue that does not impact the sovereignty or the territorial integrity of the two sides; an issue that had become a hindrance to the free movement of citizens. Minister Venizelos and I agreed to find an acceptable solution regulated by international law and international treaties, and in this way we also determined a deadline within which we will take all the legal, institutional and administrative measures to make possible the implementation of today’s statement and for specific changes to be made in practice. On the other hand, we will enable citizens to move freely, without problems of an administrative nature.
As we stressed in all our meetings with my colleague Mr. Venizelos – and I take this opportunity here to thank him for the ongoing dialogue we had throughout this time – the relations between Albania and Greece are relations of strategic cooperation. There are other issues, as well, that we will continue to work to resolve, one by one, with determination and patience. These are issues that have to do with our European identity; they are issues that have to do with our capacity as two NATO member states and, above all, with the fact that we are neighbouring countries with a geographical imperative to collaborate with one another, so that our two peoples can enjoy greater prosperity in the future.
I thank my colleague Mr. Venizelos once again for the dialogue and collaboration we had on this matter.
May 12, 2014