Berisha at the CoE Assembly

Starting from July 1st 2012, Albania will take over the next presidency of the Committee of Ministers at the Council of Europe. For the President of the Assembly, this is not a problem.

“I am French. France is considered a democratic country. They often say that it is the country where the human rights were born. But I am sure that France has some democracy lessons to take from any country that is a member of the Council of Europe”, declared Mignon, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Ministers.

Besides the meeting with President Mignon, Prime Minister Berisha addressed to the Parliamentary Assembly. By unfolding his vision and the priorities of the Albanian presidency, the Prime Minister underlined the common values of democracy.

“The universal common universal values of the basic human rights and freedoms, supported by democracy, the rule of law, the free market economy and the aspirations for peace, progress and stability, what unite our nations rich in historical and unique traditions in culture, language and religion. Hence, the Albanian Presidency has chosen the significant motto “united in diversity”, Berisha declared.

The Albanian PM answered to the questions made by the MPs about issues such as war against corruption, economic progress, relations between minorities, blood feuds, the homosexuals’ rights and the homophobic declarations of the Deputy Minister of Defense, Ekrem Spahia. Regarding the political climate in the country, Berisha used conciliation tones for the opposition.

“The opposition is now in Parliament. On the last October we reached an agreement that has been almost completely respected by both parties. We are finalizing the electoral reform with a very consensual spirit. I am happy to inform you that this reform started in December and so far, the Commission of the reform has discussed only the amends that have been brought by the opposition. They wanted to have the initiative and we answered positively. We agreed on this, and I think that we will never get tired of offering the consensual spirit”, Berisha declared.

The Albanian Prime Minister answered to a question about Dick Marty’s report, reminding that the Albanian government has passed a special law for a full cooperation with the EULEX investigators regarding the report’s accusations.

The Prime Minister insisted for the recognition of Kosovo’s independence by the European countries that have not recognized it yet. In the next six months, the Albanian presidency of the Council of Europe will organize a high rank conference where they will discuss about the diversity in Europe, the promotion of intercultural dialogue, the role of education and the contribution of the young people in mutual understanding.

In this context, a special activity focusing on the young people was foreseen for the commemoration of the Holocaust victims. Albania is a full member of the Council of Europe since July 1995.

Although today started the first Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, Albania, as irony, is under the monitoring of the Parliamentary Assembly, two reporters of which visited Albania a few days ago, on their fact collecting mission.

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