The fierce political struggle in the country and the revival of old grievances and egos could cost Albania dearly The 50th anniversary of the NATO Summit in Washington began with Kosovo and ended with the so-called “Marshall Plan 2” for the economic recovery of Southeastern Europe, under which, according to NATO sources, around 30 billion dollars will be disbursed over five years. The countries that will benefit from this sum will be those surrounded by the Kosovo crisis, with Albania and Macedonia receiving the highest priority, since, in terms of population, they are the countries most affected by the influx of refugees. The main financier will be the European Union, in cooperation with other financial institutions. NATO, too ... will play its part alongside the OSCE. “The conflict in the former Yugoslavia has devastated the economies of several countries, and we cannot abandon these countries,” Solana said a few days ago. This is especially true of those countries that have provided, or were ready to provide, the Alliance with airport facilities. The plan will be put into effect as soon as the Kosovo issue is resolved, NATO officials say. Meanwhile, now that the figure has been announced, the favored countries have begun a kind of competition over who will get more. The impatient one has been the President of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, who, during the Summit, called for fixed dates to be set for disbursement of the funds. More or less the same has been done by the other Balkan and Southern European leaders, detailing the damage they have suffered from the war in the former Yugoslavia, not only during the Kosovo crisis but throughout the last decade of wars in the former Yugoslavia. Logically, Albania appears to be the most favored. It has not only hosted the largest number of Kosovar refugees, but at the same time it has opened its arms to NATO more than any other country. But while the other countries in the region have turned their spotlights toward this plan, in Albania, unfortunately, the seeds of an old, primitive, fratricidal struggle are beginning to revive within the Socialist Party, between government and opposition, and beyond. Is the chairman of the Socialist Party more important than Kosovo, than the international plan for the recovery of the Balkans? It seems this question does not even occur to the leading figures of Albanian politics. Domestic instability in Albania at this moment would make us a laughingstock in the eyes of the world, would cost us dearly, and would deprive us of all those advantages that, fortunately, have fallen to our lot, placing us in the winners’ camp.

Surprise: The poorest in Europe, ready to become EU members Europe officially opened its doors to Albania yesterday. Foreign Minister Paskal Milo signed an agreement yesterday in Luxembourg for our country’s accession to the European Union. From now on, Albania will have advantages in receiving direct aid from the EU, loans and investments, rather than donations. This is the first step toward Albania becoming an EU member. With yesterday’s agreement, it can be said that Europe’s door has been opened halfway to Albania. Albania and Macedonia could mark the unique case of being catapulted into Europe, and this could happen within this year. (continued on page 9)

Projektohet plani “Marshall 2” për Europën Juglindore në 5 vjet