Albania

Athens hosted an art exhibition a couple of months ago at its iconic Zappeion Hall venue where Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama was able to express his creative side. Late last year, Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid an official visit to Himare, becoming the first Greek prime minister to visit one of the main ethnic Greek towns in Albania in 30 years.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the Athens suburb of Zografou on Monday, where he sent a stern message that Albania's European prospects are entirely dependent on it respecting the rights of the Greek ethnic minority in that country.

Fred Beleri, the Greek minority candidate in the Himara region of southern Albania, has responded to news of his victory in the local elections held on Sunday. Despite his current detention by Albanian authorities on charges of vote-buying, Beleri expressed a commitment to equality and unity.

Fredi Beleri, the candidate representing the Greek minority, emerged victorious over his opponent Jorgo Goro, who had the backing of the Edi Rama government, in the race for the mayor of Himara in Albania's local elections.

The official results were announced Monday after an earlier interruption in the vote counting process.

Tourism is a mainstay of the Croatian, Montenegrin and Albanian economies. But growing labour shortages mean hotels, restaurants and bars are increasingly looking abroad for staff.

Greece has made the right choice to encourage the European orientation of its Balkan neighbors, based on the assessment that the prospect of their integration also functions as a guarantee of peace. 

A court in Albania decided on Saturday to detain until his trial an ethnic Greek mayoral candidate in the southern Albanian municipality of Himara, Fredi Beleri, after he was charged with vote-buying.

A crisis in relations between Athens and Tirana has been sparked by the arrest of the candidate for mayor of Himare, Greek expatriate Dionysis-Fredi Beleri, two days before the municipal elections in the neighboring country.

A Greek expatriate mayoral candidate in the southern Albanian municipality of Himara, Fredi Beleri, was arrested at midnight on Thursday by the Albanian police outside his business premises on suspicion of paying people for their votes, causing strong condemnation from officials in Athens.

Albanians will vote in local elections on Sunday, May 14. Given the fragmentation of the main opposition Democratic Party, Prime Minister Edi Rama of the left-wing Socialist Party is practically unchallenged.