European Commission report sends message to Albania

The European Commission's progress report on Greece's neighbor Albania, which opened accession negotiations with the EU in 2022, noted a determination to implement the required European reforms and some progress, but also urged Tirana to undertake further efforts regarding "freedom of expression, minority issues and property rights, as well as in key areas of the rule of law, such as the fight against corruption and organized crime."

In fact, the report mentions, albeit without naming it, the case of Fredi Beleri, the ethnic Greek mayor-elect of Himare, in the section on good-neighborly relations, which referred to Albania's relationship with Greece.

It stated that serious concerns have been raised over tensions between the two countries as a result of the pretrial imprisonment of a recently elected mayor of Greek descent. Beleri was arrested on the eve of the local...