Albania

The Special Court of Appeals Against Corruption and Organised Crime ruled on Friday that the case against Fatmir Mediu, who was defence minister in 2008 when an ammunition dump explosion killed 26 people, should be reopened.

The blast happened while ammunition from the period of Communist rule in Albania was being dismantled.

Concerns have been raised that Albania did not immediately ask Interpol to issue an international 'red notice' for the arrest of former General Prosecutor Adriatik Llalla immediately after he disappeared following the court verdict confirming his two-year prison sentence for illegally concealing assets.

In the op ed text for the newspaper "Kathimerini", Mallias spoke about the relations between Greece, Albania and the so-called Kosovo, i.e. the policy pursued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias.

Turkey and Montenegro have agreed to make additional efforts to increase bilateral trade volume to $250 million by 2022, Perisa Kastratovic, Montenegro's ambassador to Ankara, said yesterday.

He called on Turkish investors to grab opportunities in the southern Balkan country in an online meeting with a group of Turkish journalists.

As stated in the unsigned response of the Council of Europe to the question of the Slovenian MEP Klemen Groelj, the non-paper was not even discussed in that institution.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, France. Photo: EPA-EFE/PATRICK SEEGER

"The court finds that a period exceeding four years and three months to decide on a case such as an applicant's, and in particular in view of what was at stake for him, was excessive and failed to meet the 'reasonable time' requirement," the Strasbourg-based rights court's ruling said.

Farewells

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (not in picture) during a press conference in Tirana, Albania, 14 September 2021. The German Chancellor is in Albania to participate in the Western Balkan Summit. EPA-EFE/MALTON DIBRA

Germany's credibility was always high in the Western Balkans, much of it due to Merkel, whose Germany has been crucial to shaping the debate on EU enlargement to the region.

However, in order to maintain this credibility, the next German government will have to adapt to new challenges and circumstances pertaining to the region.

Sexist attacks also came from all categories and age-groups owning a social networks account. Memes were also shared, focussing not only on the women in the new government but also conveying the message that they "will be used and exploited".

The EU administration assessed negatively the initiative "Mini Schengen", also known as "Open Balkan", of the leaders of North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania and believes that it undermines the region's European integration.