Albanian stalemate can hit EU ambitions: official

Albania must resolve a political impasse on a contested parliamentary election as it could torpedo its aim of joining the European Union, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said Friday."If the current political stalemate were to persist, it could well prevent Albania from reaching the political standards expected from a country that has applied for EU membership," Fuele said after talks with Prime Minister Sali Berisha.

Albania's ruling and opposition parties have been locked in a dispute over legislative elections held last June, won by the coalition led by Berisha's Democrats.Late Friday, the parliament meanwhile decided -- with 73 votes for in the 140-seat assembly -- to form a commission to investigate the opposition Socialists' claims of vote fraud, but rejected a recount of ballots.

Blendi Klosi, a Socialist party deputy, condemned the decision, warning that the political crisis in Albania "continues and deepens" due to lack of transparency of the election process."The parliament has lost today a possibility to embark on the European train," Klosi said.

Analysts estimated that the parliament session on Friday was the last chance for the opposition and the ruling party to find a compromise.The Socialists, who have 65 of 140 seats, returned to parliament in late February after a seven-month long boycott which blocked the implementation of many much-needed reforms.But they have vowed to stage fresh protests if their demands were not m

"Parliament is a place for dialogue and for the resolution of differences, boycotts have no place in democratic politics," Fuele said during his brief visit to Tirana.After decades of international isolation during communist rule, Albania has set its goal to join the European Union and submitted its candidacy last April."In the interest of their country and its EU integration perspective, Albania's political leaders now need to address this challenge constructively," Fuele said.