Foreign ministers of Albania

Greece’s hopes of agreeing an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Ionian Sea with Albania have been dealt another blow after the prosecutor’s office in Tirana launched an investigation into the agreement between the two countries.

“Albanians have gathered here against a dangerous enemy, which seeks to destroy our freedoms and deny us our European dream,” the chairman of the Democratic Party, Lulzim Basha, told supporters.

“This enemy is narcotics trafficking, which in the last six months, sponsored by the drug barons, has reached dangerous levels,” he added.

The Albanian Ministry of Interior said the pilot of the plane, Girgio Riformato, had been arrested after he crash-landed his single-engine Piper on Sunday on the beach at Divjaka, 50 kilometres south of Tirana.

In the same area, police also arrested an Albanian, Saimir Bajramaj, after they found 460 kilograms of marijuana and €27,000 in his vehicle.

The data, obtained through a freedom of information request, FOI, show that the Ministry of Interior held six major TV ad campaigns and produced one spot in four years for a total 85,389,780 lek (€610,000).

The seven contracts awarded for the production and transmission of the adverts all went to one advertising agency, Promo Sh.p.k.

“The highway will be remembered for years to come as the most expensive road ever built by the Albanian government,” Balla wrote on his Facebook page.

Balla accused current Albanian centre-right opposition leader Lulzim Basha, who signed the contract for the construction of the highway in 2006, of abuse of power, damaging to state to the tune of €190 million.

Addressing the rally, the Democratic Party head, Lulzim Basha, said Thursday’s March, held on the 23rd anniversary of the overthrow of the commuist regime, was only the start of a broader protest campaign.