Jensen: President, a step back

“If we, as diplomats, use a polite language where thorns are called ‘roses’, the failures are called as partial successes and the fraudulent people remain in leadership, and if they are supported as leaders, how can we expect the Albanian people to understand what they should do or not, for joining the EU?”.

When asked about the presidential election, Jansen declared that he was elected according to the Constitution, but not with democracy. According to him, now everything is up to the newly elected President, Bujar Nishani, to show if he is the right person or not. In his answer he says:

“Seen from the formal point of view, the process and the result were within the legal limits set by the Albanian constitution, but they were clearly not within what was written on that paper. The result shows some defects of the current Constitution. On the procedural point of view, the election of the President is a step back for the Albanian democracy”.

As regards Albania’s future in the EU integration road, Jansen doubts that Albania will receive the EU candidate status. He says:

“Albania has never had so many chances for progressing towards the EU, then in the last four years. Besides the NATO membership and the visa liberalization, most of the offers were rejected. Not only with words, because the necessary things have been said, but with what really matters: with actions and deeds. It is an exclusive right of the European Commission to recommend the status, but the competency for allowing it comes only from the member countries. Each of these 27 member countries must vote in favor. Sincerely, by seeing the lack of evidence for concrete progress in politics, the rule of law, war against corruption, the building of the institutional capacities, etc, I think that there are fewer chances to have a consensus within the member countries, even if the Commission will recommend the candidate status”.

Jensen addresses all critics to war against corruption:

“I am sorry to say that corruption has deteriorated, year after year. This is not just an impression, but a fact. Transparency International and other institutions have documented the tendency in their annual reports. It is a cancer that is spreading in all social levels. I heard recently about a very painful case, when someone was obliged to corrupt a Municipal employee for having a cemetery space for burying his dead relative. That’s where it has gone to”.

The Danish ambassador says that he is more concerned about the lack of civil reaction.

“I was astonished by the hesitation of the Albanian people to rise for their rights. I don’t think that any other European people would have reacted that way after the January 21st events. I don’t think that most of the European citizens would accept that level of corruption and injustice that you see in Albania, without reacting at all. I don’t think that any other European people would accept in silence that his environment can get destroyed for personal greed. The most astonishing is that the Albanian electorate keeps electing the same people who do not enjoy their respect. This is difficult to be understood by me or whoever that has had democracy breastfed to him since birth”, Jensen declared.

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