Greece Ratifies SAA with Albania

Tirana, Jan. 15, 2008 (AE) – The Greek parliament ratified the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Albania and European Union on Wednesday, opening the way to its implementation, local press announced on Thursday. Greece is the last EU member to ratify SAA. Right wing Nea Democratia and left wing PASOK voted in favor.

Outside  parliament several organizations that represent Greek minority in Albania, protested against the decision. A similar nationalist protest was held in Tepelena, (south Albania) where police arrested two Albanians for “expressing ethnic hate”.

An hour before the ratification  of the SAA, Albania’s government in Tirana approved a bilateral agreement to find, identify and build a special cemetery in Albanian soil for Greek soldiers fallen during World War Two. This was an informal condition imposed by the Greek government for the SAA ratification.

Formal work has not yet finished. Greece need to register it approval in Brussels before SAA can become effective.

The Stabilization and Association Agreement betwen Albania and the EU was signed in May 2006. Its  ratification process by EU member countries took more than two years.

Short URL: http://www.albanianeconomy.com/news/?p=1649

Posted by editor on Jan 15 2009. Filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry