Doris Pack, head of the European delegation for the region, supports the young people in politics . Europe: Goodbye Berisha, welcome Chairman Pollo. The delegation at the DP Congress will support the young candidate. page 3

. Gavrosh Levonja. Setting aside the formulas of mutual courtesy and the stereotypical speeches by Albanian politicians about integration, democracy, and traditional ties and friendships with the country of the latest visiting guest, the most positive outcome of German Chancellor Schröder’s visit was the agreement concerning the “privatization of the mobile telecommunications network.” The inclusion of the German giant “Deutsche Telekom” in the privatization of AMC shows that, despite the difficulties Albania has faced over these years, serious investors continue to show interest. But more importantly, the presence of a serious partner such as the German company closes off opportunities for dubious and fraudulent firms which, in essence, are not very different from Albania’s former pyramid schemes. It must be acknowledged that Albania, as a result of its lack of experience but also of our officials’ tendency to get involved in corruption, has generally fallen prey to fraudulent firms that have pocketed funds allocated to our country by international financial institutions and individual countries. Furthermore, the involvement of German Telekom in the privatization of AMC, first and foremost given the official nature of its entry into the process, would reduce to a minimum the opportunities for corruption among Albanian officials, including those at the very highest levels. On the other hand, establishing and intensifying ties with companies and firms from a country such as Germany, the “locomotive” of the European Union, in a way also helps narrow the relatively wide gap separating Albania from Europe’s developed countries. However, the extremely important fact that Germany’s economic presence in the Balkans, as in the rest of Eastern Europe, is experiencing a period of expansion cannot be ignored. Consequently, opening our doors to and cooperating with German companies would also help create a shared economic space with our Balkan neighbours, which is one of the key pillars of stability. In addition, the presence in Albania of a reputable German firm, which is very likely to be joined by other companies from the same group, would also increase the interest of economic operators from other countries. Nevertheless, everything would depend on how seriously Albanian officials approach this matter. Experience has shown that it would be a mistake not to remain cautiously optimistic.

. Page 23 Ronaldo’s secret: he is going to be a father

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Today at 21:00, Ridvan Bode faces Ferdinand Xhaferi over the DP Congress

26 September 1999 * 15 prizes of 1,000,000 new lek each * One car * One sightseeing trip, 500,000 new lek * 100 Mini-Bingo prizes worth 10,000 new lek