The British Ambassador to Albania, Fiona McIlwham gave an interview to Albanian current affairs magazine MAPO. Below is a full transcript of the interview
You took the post of Ambassador to Albania at a delicate political moment for the country, on the eve of general election of June. What were your impressions of these developments? How different is your idea about Albania now compared to your first days of arrival?
Clearly, I arrived at an interesting political moment, just a few weeks before the 28 June general elections. But I also arrived with a very clear sense of Albania's rich heritage and extraordinary potential.Â
Before I took up my post, I spent a month in Shkodra learning Albanian - and exploring the North. There, at the language faculty, and in London before, I met some very talented and dynamic young Albanians; well-educated and desperate to make a better future for themselves and their families here in Albania, and as part of the EU.
So I arrived in Tirana certain of this country's potential - and particularly her human quality. And that impression hasn't changed. It has only been reinforced, as I've met more Albanians and heard their experiences and life stories. Naturally, the elections have been a major focus for me - and my Government - but not the sole focus. And they haven't detracted from that overriding sense of possibility.
I suppose three months in, my concern, is whether Albania is fully harnessing that potential and energy. I've met a lot of young Albanians that are disillusioned with politics and the pace of reform. Yes, Albania has traveled an extraordinary distance since the collapse of the former regime. Yes, there's progress. But it may not be moving fast enough to meet the expectations and aspirations of some - and particularly the younger generation.
My sense is there's real appetite for positive change - so I hope the new Government and new parliament will seize the initiative.
The voting of 28 June resulted in Berisha as winner in coalition with Meta, while the socialist opposition suffered a los which is still contesting. What is your position and that of the UK government for the irregularities that were noted in these elections?
We're still waiting for ODIHR's final assessment of the June elections. They're the experts and their report will inform my Government's view of the election process. We, the UK, are and have been focused on the integrity of that - the electoral - process - before, during and after election day. The results, obviously, are for ordinary Albanians - you the citizens - to contest and determine and not for us outsiders.
No doubt, on election day many voters and election officials showed their commitment to the democratic process - I saw that first hand, as I visited polling stations in and outside Tirana. But as ODIHR's interim reports have highlighted there were irregularities - problems pre-election with politicization of state structures and after election day with tension, interference and delays in the counting process. That's disappointing, particularly for a new NATO member and aspiring EU country. And it's frustrating for me and my Government, given our eagerness to see Albania's EU ambitions fulfilled.
The EU has set clear criteria for membership. The onus is on prospective member states to meet those European - not relative - standards.
Can we say that the democratic standards were not respected in these elections? How do you comment the statements of the international observers that one/third of the monitored counting centres did bad or very bad?
As I've already said, I'm not going to prejudge ODIHR's final report. ODIHR's final, overall assessment will issue shortly and provide an authoritative and expert view. It will set their interim observations, including on the counting process, in the wider framework/context.
As known, the figures that came out of these elections will give shape to a government with a weak majority. Is that a concern for the political stability of the country?
A slim majority is not a bad thing - or threat to stability - per se. It can encourage and stimulate consensus politics. And where that's achieved it's a stronger basis for reform, particularly in countries in transition but also more generally. In the UK recently, the Government, even with a significant majority, has relied on cross-party support for major reforms, like education. And major reforms in Albanian, will necessarily require the support of Opposition, as well as Government, MPs to secure a 2/3 majority
All the political parties have very clearly stated their commitment to Albania's EU future. So EU integration is a national project that will require national, cross party, as well as public, support to progress. There's a common purpose but, as in all good democracies, I expect there'll be a healthy - and hopefully constructive - debate around implementation.
Some weeks ago the EU issued the list of Western Balkan countries to benefit visa liberalization next year, leaving out Albania and Bosnia-Hercegovina. How much has this decision been influenced from the electoral process and wider from how Albania is meeting the required standards?
The visa liberalization process has a distinct and clear set of criteria, which include improvements to travel documents and systems, border controls and action to tackle organized crime; also legal protection for minority groups.Â
Visa liberalization has much more to do with tangible, technical improvements to Albania's border systems and investigation and prosecution of organized crime, than politics. And it's against those criteria/requirements that this country and the new government's progress will be measured.Â
The UK doesn't participate in the EU's common Schengen area - we have our own border control system, with separate visa requirements - so we're not directly involved in the Schengen decision-making on visa liberalization in the Western Balkans; and those decisions do not directly affect our regimes. But we obviously watch the process with interest. For the UK, and European partners, Albania's progress against these requirements, is a measure of her commitment to EU reform and values more broadly.
Mr Berisha has recently launched the idea a moving process of "the nation unification" between Albania and Kosovo. How does this sound in the ears of Europeans who have preferred to see Kosovo's relation to Albania in the framework of a wider European integration?
Albania has always played a moderating and responsible role in the region. I see no reason to expect that to change. What the controversy over the Prime Minister's comments clearly demonstrates is the need to recognize the deep-seated sensibilities surrounding issues of nationhood and ethnicity in this region. They're issues that have ripped communities and families apart; and claimed too many innocent lives. Issues that I'm all too keenly aware of, after four years working in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
So the clarification by the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirming my impression that Albania remains committed to recognizing the existing borders in the region, was helpful.
How do you assess the relations UK-Albania? What is missing that you would like to complete during your term here?
The bilateral relationship between our two countries is strong and continues to improve with the passage of years. It's a dynamic relationship - with a wide range of common interests and contacts, including vital joint work to tackle the organised crime that harms both our countries, also the British Council's work to help improve the quality of language training in universities; and more and more non-governmental contacts. We're launching the Albanian chapter of the English Speaking Union on 7 September -- an organisation that promotes English language and contacts globally. So the UK-Albania relationship is wide-ranging and with Albania now a NATO partner, it continues to evolve and mature. But all of this is firmly rooted in a shared vision for Albania's future - a future that sees this country as a fully-fledged member of the EU. Â During my tenure, I look forward to developing the relationship still further - deepening it, particularly in the sphere of the rule of law, where we have urgent common priorities. The UK wants to have an open and frank dialogue about the problems and challenges, that based on real partnership. But I'll be working to help broaden the relationship beyond the traditional government-to-government contacts - boosting business, as well as more people to people contacts. We have a very strong foundation.
Versionin shqip e lexoni këtu: Ambasadorja e Britanisë së Madhe: Nga se u zhgënjeva në zgjedhje
