Albania-Kosovo agreement rekindles old suspicions

31/10/2011

A deal to unify consular services abroad, to be followed by similar moves in all other sectors, is a source of concern for some about potential Albanian territorial aggression.

By Svetla Dimitrova for Southeast European Times in Sofia -- 31/10/11

"Albanians should feel themselves the same in Tirana and in Pristina," Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said. [Reuters]

An agreement to merge the Albanian and Kosovo consular services abroad has sparked concerns in parts of the Balkans that the deal is a step towards realising "Greater Albania ".

The accord was approved by Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha's cabinet on October 20th. It would halve the two countries' consular costs, the government said.

"Albanians should feel the same in Tirana and in Pristina," Berisha said, calling also for similar deals in the fields of customs and taxes, as well as in the education, social, cultural and environmental sectors "and everything else".

"We have to strengthen co-operation within the same legal framework and practices in order to reduce bureaucratic barriers between citizens of Albania and Kosovo," he said.

Kosovo analyst Seb Bytyci heading the Pristina-based Balkan Policy Institute echoed Tirana's arguments.

"Kosovo and Albania are small countries without resources to have consulates everywhere," he told SETimes. "This deal enables them to provide better services to their citizens. Similar deals are common even among richer countries, who still feel the need to cut costs."

The foreign ministries of Macedonia -- which signed an agreement for joint consular representation with Slovenia -- and Montenegro told SETimes they respect every country's right to conduct its external and internal affairs.

"We welcome every initiative targeted at improving the regional co-operation," the Macedonian foreign ministry said, but added it "would not comment the statements and the relations between Kosovo and Albania".

"I don't see why should this disturb Montenegro," Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Milic told SETimes.

Macedonian diplomacy expert Lazar Lazarov cautioned there is more to this kind of agreements than meets the eye.

"In the first phase you have rapprochement, joint customs and economy, but the second phase in this process usually is unification," Lazarov told SETimes. "It will be difficult for Kosovo to maintain its statehood in these circumstances. Both Albania and Kosovo seem to work on the 'Greater Albania' project, mentioned first in 1878."

Lazarov referred to the plan promoted by Albanian political organisation Prizren League, which aimed to unify in one state Albanians scattered across Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Greece in the 19th century.,...........................

more see: http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/10/31/feature-03