D. BUSHATI: (translated from an unofficial Greek translation of the Albanian) I would like to welcome Mr. Venizelos, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Greece, which is a neighbouring country and our strategic partner.
Mr. Venizelos and I discussed all the issues that link us, and we exchanged views on the promotion of cooperation between our two countries on the bilateral, regional and European levels.
It is our view that our relations are in need of promotion, and that there is a need for an upgrading of bilateral meetings on the political and technical level, as well as for the holding of joint meetings of the two governments.
We appreciate the Greek government’s support for the Albanian community in Greece. We are aware of the difficulties being faced by the Albanian community with regard to issues of legislation with a European dimension. We appreciate the role of the Greek minority in Albania.
Albania has a very strong tradition with regard to handling minority rights. Between our countries, there is a friendship and cooperation agreement that is the cornerstone for the intensification and promotion of bilateral relations and the handling – within a legal and institutional framework – of all the issues that need handling, far from any nationalist rhetoric aimed at damaging the friendship and cooperation between the two countries and the two peoples.
We look forward to the reactivation of the mechanism provided for by the friendship and cooperation Agreement that accompanied the Greek side’s lifting of the state of war of 1940, which does not reflect the current conditions in our traditional, bilateral relations. The fact that the two countries are members of NATO and that Albania is on a course toward the EU will create a new framework of mutual understanding and good faith, while also making feasible the recovery of property rights persons have been deprived of, within the framework, of course, and in line with international law.
We have the necessary political will and we will invest in our human and institutional resources to resolve the issues we have inherited and that have arisen today, so that we can open a new chapter for the future of the cooperation of the two countries; cooperation oriented towards the European perspective.
I must thank Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Venizelos for the unlimited help and support Greece has offered and is offering to Albania on its European course.
The Memorandum of Cooperation on European integration issues, which we are discussing and will soon finalize, is, we believe, the best means for institutionalizing the cooperation and course towards the EU, and it will be of decisive importance for the future of the region, given that the Greek and Italian presidencies will revitalize cooperation in the Mediterranean.
Today’s meeting was a good opportunity for us to share views on the new state of affairs in our region, the promotion of good neighbourly relations, and the Euroatlantic perspective. We made a commitment to work together closely to promote the Trans Adriatic natural gas Pipeline, which is of importance to the energy stability and economic development of the region.
I express the conviction that the visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, will further enrich the scope of good cooperation. We are determined to work to consolidate our strategic cooperation, so that Albanian-Greek relations can serve as a model for the whole region.
E. VENIZELOS: The talks we had between the two delegations, as well as the one-on-one talks, in a follow-up to our meeting in New York and following the working visit carried out by Prime Minister Rama to Athens following the elections here in Albania, gave us the opportunity to reaffirm the very clear and strong framework of our cooperation.
I express publicly to you my warm wishes for the success of the new Albanian government in meeting its goals, as well as my wishes for your personal term as Foreign Minister. My visit here is in fact in preparation for the upcoming visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, a figure who symbolizes the strong ties of Greek-Albanian friendship.
The two countries are linked by strong ties of friendship, and now that Albania – now a member of NATO – is preparing to take the next step towards the EU, Greece is prepared to do everything in its power to help. And to this end, beyond the friendship and cooperation Agreement in force, our decision today to conclude a memorandum of understanding, an MoU, is of great importance; an MoU specifically on issues that concern the preparations for the accession negotiations between the EU and Albania.
We are pleased that these developments coincide with the six months of the upcoming Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU. We are also pleased that our Presidency will be followed by the Italian Presidency. I am aware that my Italian counterpart was here in Tirana a few days ago.
It is significant that, during my recent visit to Rome, we agreed with the Italian Prime Minister and the Italian Foreign Minister for the Greek Presidency, in the first half of 2014, and the Italian Presidency, in the second half of 2014, to put together a Mediterranean Year in the Presidency, with common priorities. A Mediterranean Year means that the comprehensive maritime policy will be a priority in both semesters.
The maritime and Mediterranean dimension of the EU is of very great importance, and, in this context, the EU announced the conclusions of a very important study on the importance to all the European countries of the implementation of, and of respect for, the International Law of the Sea and the exploitation and activation of maritime zones in the Mediterranean in particular.
Greece and Italy, who will hold the two European presidencies in 2014, have had an agreement on the delimitation of the continental shelf since 1977. The principles we accept and respect are simple: respect for the International Law of the Sea, the existing international convention on the law of the sea. As our relationship was shaped historically with the member states of the EU, so we want our relationship with Albania – which wants to join the EU – to be shaped.
The two countries, Greece and Albania, and mainly the two economies and the two peoples, are fully interlinked. The course of the Greek economy impacts the course of the Albanian economy. Fortunately, despite the deep economic crisis in Greece in recent years, Greece has remained a strong international economy that is among the largest economies in the world.
The Greek economy and in particular the investment and business presence in Albania is still very strong, and Greece is the number-one foreign direct investor in Albania. And we want this to continue and be encouraged within a politically and legally stable environment.
On the other hand, the Albanian community in Greece, the Albanian workers and their families, want to have the highest possible standard of living and enjoy all the rights within the framework of the European acquis. The traditional, of course, living bridge of friendship and cooperation is the Greek national minority in Albania. Both sides see how useful and helpful respect for their rights – in accordance with the Albanian constitution – is in promoting our relations.
Our economic relations are taking on an additional, vital energy dimension due to the new TAP that will link Greece with Albania and Italy, with branches toward the Ionian and the Adriatic and to other countries in the wider region. We have a lot to do, not just when the pipeline goes into operation, but also during its construction. The cooperation of the two countries on the construction of this pipeline provides many opportunities for growth and jobs.
It is also very important that I reiterate the obvious: that Greece and Albania are two NATO member states, two OSCE participating states. We are awaiting Albania’s accession to the EU, and we are linked by a strong relationship of cooperation and good neighbourliness. We are two countries that believe in the need for stability in the wider region; we are two countries that agree that there is no room for any trace of irredentism.
The state of peace between Greece and Albania was declared officially by the Hellenic Ministerial Council in 1987. And since 1986, anyone who has anything to protect on Greek territory and in the context of Greek law and order has the right to individual recourse as far as the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. So we have a very secure framework for cooperation that is governed by multilateral and bilateral treaties, and I am pleased because we are now taking the next steps.
I am pleased because we decided to reconvene, in the near future, the Joint Committee on the historical issue of the military cemeteries. I am also pleased because we will activate the provisions of the existing contractual framework, so that we can move ahead with joint ministerial committees and joint technical committees on all the issues of joint interest.
In closing, I would like to reiterate, one more time, my warm wishes to the Albanian government and to the friendly Albanian people for progress, prosperity and the realization of their European aspirations.
JOURNALIST (ANA): Mr. President, you mentioned the Mediterranean Year. How are you thinking of handling the issue of the maritime boundaries between the two countries? And a second part of my question: Do you believe that this configuration will be completed within the six months of the Greek Presidency? And a question for Mr. Bushati. Do you believe that the issue of maritime boundaries is a res nullius issue?
E. VENIZELOS: I answered your question in my introductory statement. The joint basis of the Mediterranean Year formed by the successive Greek and Italian Presidencies in the EU is the comprehensive maritime policy, which, of course, is centered on the Mediterranean. I repeat that the EU has already published a very important study that shows that the implementation of the international law of the sea and the declaration and delimitation of maritime zones have very significant benefits for the member states of the EU and the Mediterranean countries. All the member states of the EU have signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It is obvious that, based on the Copenhagen Criteria, this must also be in effect for countries that are candidates for accession. There is a practice that is apparent in the example of Greek-Italian relations. We delimited our continental shelf in 1977. And now, during my latest visit to Rome, we agreed to extend this agreement to other maritime zones as well – the EEZ, for example.
In the Mediterranean, and even more so in the Adriatic and Ionian seas, there is no difference in size between the continental shelf and the EEZ. The delimitation of one is the delimitation of the other. So there is a European practice, there is a Greek-Italian example, and we are certain that we will move in the same spirit with Albania, because we have accepted the same rules and the same principles.
D. BUSHATI: I will respond briefly, because I see that journalists are curious about various issues. The issue is not how the Albanian Foreign Ministry sees this issue, because the response has been made by the Albanian Constitutional Court. Mr. Venizelos understandably referred to the Copenhagen Criteria, which are obligatory for EU member states and candidate countries for EU membership, and I believe that the students of December 1990, when they asked to have Albania in Europe, when the democratic revolution started here in Albania – one of their basic demands was the creation and building of rule of law and respect for the rules imposed by rule of law.
Today, for the Albanian government, there is no issue of whether it will read the decision of the Constitutional Court of Albania. This decision is clear. For the Albanian government, the issue is how we will move forward, how we will resolve this issue.
This issue, as Mr. Venizelos said, is important; it is important for Albania, it is important for Greece, it is important for the Mediterranean programmes in the framework of the EU. And my response is direct, as I stressed in my initial statements. We want to set the resolution of these issues in motion.
The issues that have remained from the past, as well as those that have arisen recently. We want to handle them with resolve and political will, based on the corresponding legislation, the principles of the international law of the sea – in this case, the delimitation of the maritime zones of the two countries – and based on best practices, because this is what we want. Our fundamental goal is European integration.
JOURNALIST (Top Channel): You said there is some agreement on bilateral relations from 1987. Does this mean the law on the state of war will be overturned, as the Albanian side has expressly requested? Why is Greece afraid to abolish a law that has essentially been abolished since 1997?
E. VENIZELOS: What I referred to was the official Resolution and Declaration of the Hellenic Council of Ministers of 1987 on overcoming to old, historical obstacles and shifting to a state of peace, friendship and good neighbourly relations between Greece and Albania.
Between two countries who are members of NATO, there is alliance and an obligation to assist for defensive reasons. The OSCE, which both countries participate in, is based on respect for existing borders and on relations of friendship, cooperation and stability throughout the region of Europe.
And anyone who thinks they have rights that are compromised in Greek law and order can, as of 1986, apply, as an individual, to the European Court of Human Rights. So we are prepared for what follows: activation of the friendship and cooperation Agreement, the signing of the MoU on European issues, and our moving ahead on all the issues the two countries are discussing.
JOURNALIST (News 24): Did you discuss the “Cham” issue, given that in recent days it has become one of the main topics of discussion in the Albanian news media, which wrote that a Resolution on the “Cham” issue was published in the Government Gazette?
E. VENIZELOS: I am not aware of anything with regard to what the news media wrote. Minister Bushati may respond.
D. BUSHATI: I will respond only to the question concerning the manner in which the talks between us took place. I think the question you are posing to me is somewhat outdated. Because the fact, with regard to us, the Albanian government, the “Cham” issue, the issue known as the “Cham” issue, is a component part of our diplomatic agenda with Greece.
In our opinion, now is the time to look reality in the face, to overcome the historical obstacles left to us by the past one by one, because we want to broaden our cooperation on the bilateral, regional and European levels.
We cannot sidestep the current issues and leave them in the hands of populist nationalism, which, in the absence of a process for resolving this issue and other issues, attempts to hold our bilateral relations hostage, often reaching the point of historical absurdities.
We have the political will, as the Albanian government, to discuss all the issues, including those raised by the Greek side and, as Mr. Venizelos said, to discuss the issue of the reactivation of the Committee on military cemeteries – an issue we do not see as being taboo.
For us, international law and the international conventions we have signed are a vital tool that we should use, in relation to the general state of affairs, as the best medicine for conditions we have inherited from the past. Thus, a new chapter will begin; a chapter in which no one will lose.
E. VENIZELOS: I set out my position on this earlier.
October 15, 2013