Statement by Alois Mock ...We, the Chairmen of the Parties of the European Union, welcome the Democratic Party of Albania and the Conservative Party of Lithuania as new members of the EDU. By accepting the Albanian Democratic Party as a full member of our organization, we recognize and fully support President Berisha as the leader of this party and its government, which has fought over these past four years to lift the country out of the total collapse left by the communist regime and to lead Albania toward democracy, the establishment of the rule of law and a market economy; we hope that cooperation with the European Democratic Union will be strengthened in the future. We recognize Albania’s European orientation and fully support the fact that its integration into the European Union and other European organizations has been Tirana’s highest foreign-policy priority. In this regard, we are pleased that Albania was admitted to the Council of Europe. We particularly welcome the participation of the Democratic Party of Albania and Dr. Sali Berisha in the Conference of Party Chairmen and wish him and the Democratic Party great success in the upcoming elections...

The Democratic Party, a member of the European Democratic Union Address by President Berisha at the 17th Conference of Leaders of the Parties of the European Democratic Union (EDU) The Democratic Party, a member of the European Democratic Union A major achievement for the DP and Albania Address by President Berisha at the 17th Conference of Leaders of the Parties of the European Democratic Union (EDU) While congratulating the newly elected members of the EDU Presidency, first of all I would like to express my great pleasure and thank the steering committee for accepting the DP as a full member of the EDU. This decision is a major achievement for the DP, but also for all Albanians, in their efforts to consolidate democracy. Europe’s generous assistance in this regard represents an achievement, a change that is visible and welcomed today but which, four years ago, seemed utterly unrealistic. Albania, once a country of hyper-collectivization, hyper-isolation, hyperinflation and a massive exodus, is now a poor country but one with a stable macroeconomy, an annual single-digit inflation rate of 6% and annual economic growth of more than 10%, with a private sector contributing over 70% of Gross Domestic Product and trade with the EU accounting for 82% of its total volume. My country is now a full member of the Council of Europe, confirming its European vocation. We have developed a close partnership with NATO and are taking further steps along the path of integration with the European Union. I would like to remind you of the still unresolved problem of Kosovo, and of the restoration of the human and national rights of the Albanians living there, which is essential to consolidating stability and peace in the Balkans. After the Dayton Peace [Agreement] and the Treaty of generous assistance from Europe in this regard, integration with the European Union. ...which will be of great importance for the country’s future, the consolidation of democracy and stability. The recent victory of the Communists in the Russian Duma has encouraged Communists everywhere, and particularly those in Albania, who have formed the Red Front in Tirana. Their alternative is a state-run economy and the correction of Albania’s pro-Western course. But I am convinced that such a scheme will be realized when the Greeks bring gifts. Opinion polls show that the Democratic Party is 20 points ahead of the Socialist Party (formerly communist), and the elections—which will be absolutely free and fair, like the previous three nationwide elections—will end in a sweeping victory for the Democrats of the Democratic Party. This time, Albania will finally be better off; it will be a country where the free vote keeps the Communists away from the helm of government. Confident of your continued solidarity and support in our joint effort to develop our shared values and principles, allow me, Mr. Chairman, to thank you once again for admitting the DP to your organization and to remind everyone here that the DP has invited your representatives to attend its congress in December in Tirana. You are also welcome to visit us during the election campaign. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the President of Rassemblement pour la République and Prime Minister of France, Mr. Alain Juppé, for the excellent hospitality he showed us. At accepting the PD as a full member of EDU. This decision is a great achievement not only for the PD but for all Albanians and Albania in their efforts to consolidate democracy, market values, and European integration. For me and all the Democrats of Albania, this is a momentous day and a great honour, because EDU is a major union of parties which, in post-war Europe, built great democracies on the foundations of Western civilisation. At the same time, it is an association of parties in government that played a decisive role in the fall of the Iron Curtain and the overthrow of communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe. I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to President Jacques Chirac, Chancellor Kohl, Prime Minister Ma- the great European enlightenment of Albania and the Albanians. I would like to thank here our distinguished friend Alois Mock, former Chairman of the Austrian People's Party, the Democratic Party of Italy, and the Nea Demokratia Party of Greece. In particular, I would like to thank the parliamentarians and officials of these parties who campaigned with me and my friends, even in the most remote areas of the country. Together with them, we were able to confront the most brutal dictatorship on our continent, as it is rightly described in the declaration of this summit. The help you have given us, and continue to give us, is help that the Albanians deserve. They have demonstrated this through their contribution to the roots and values of Western civilisation, through their resistance to the communist regime, and through implementing, over these four years, a centre-right government programme. It was our determination to implement such a programme European. problem of Kosovo and Albanians who live of Élysée, this remains the most urgent issue in the region. We call for it to be placed on the agenda of international talks so that an agreement can be reached in accordance with international acts, through a dialogue between Prishtina and Beograd in the presence of a third party. As you pointed out, Mr Chairman, solidarity among us is very important for us all, but especially for those of us facing a somewhat particular opponent. In a few months, parliamentary elections will be held in Albania

The Democratic Party at the same table as the party of Kohl, Major and Chirac The Democratic Party achieved another victory in its integration into European politics. As of yesterday, it has been a member of the European Democratic Union, one of Europe’s most powerful political groupings. The European Democratic Union (EDU) comprises 17 countries and 37 of Europe’s most powerful parties, such as Helmut Kohl’s Christian Democratic Party, Major’s British Conservative Party, Mr. Chirac’s Rally for the Republic, etc. The Democratic Party’s admission to this organization took place during the Union’s conference, which concluded yesterday in Paris and was attended by the President of Albania, Dr. Sali Berisha, and the Secretary General of the DPA, Prof. Dr. Tritan Shehu. The announcement by ... the Chairman of the EDU, Alois Mock, and the prime ministers and heads of state ... On this occasion, Albanian President Dr. Sali Berisha delivered a speech in which he once again mentioned the European vision of Albania and the Democratic Party. Then the Secretary General of the PSH, Prof. Dr. Tritan Shehu, signed the DPA’s admission document, officially accepting the acts and documents of this Union. A press conference followed, chaired by Dr. Alois Mock, honorary chairman of the Austrian People’s Party and chairman of the EDU (BDE) since 1979, and by Alen Zhype. President Berisha also answered some of the questions. Albania’s integration into Europe has been a major priority adopted by the Democratic Party from the very first day of its establishment. Its admission to Europe’s most important unions is first and foremost an indication of the Europeanization trends of the structures

Nano’s replacement is being prepared at the Congress E'bhem Ruka may be the next chairman of the SP, an informed source from within this party’s Governing Council reports. Ruka’s political career within the SP was quite surprising in its early days. A person unknown in politics and not publicly involved, he landed as if by parachute straight in the SP leadership, as though he had come from another world. It is even known that, before the PP congress, which also brought about the formal change of the party’s name, Ruka had been proposed by Alia as a credible candidate for SP chairman, alongside Nano. p. 3

Excerpt from the Paris Declaration When we last met in Paris, the communist empire was in collapse. At the same time as real socialism disappeared from Europe, the ideology of pragmatic socialism was also running out of steam in Western Europe. Although socialist and social-democratic parties were moving toward the center, it was the EDU that shaped the future course of events for most of Europe in the 1980s and 1990s. Only those socialist parties that discarded or concealed their fundamental principles—such as class struggle, nationalization or state intervention—managed to achieve more or less success. These parties are now trying to present themselves as advocates of a social market economy, the rule of law, the free market, privatization and many other principles that have always formed the democratic heritage of the parties of the European Democratic Union. The decline of socialist and social-democratic ideologies demonstrated just how weak their political program is, since they were forced to conceal their principles in order to win votes. Finally, the economic stagnation, unemployment and social tensions of the recent past have fueled a new demand for a greater role for the state in solving problems—in other words, for a revival of socialist ideas. Given the interdependence of European states, these challenges are not unique to the countries of the European Union, but also affect the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. After the peaceful revolutions and the success of the upheavals of the 1980s and early 1990s, most European countries were governed by the center-right. The experiments with real socialism left nothing behind but poverty, social destruction and lessons that the new democratic leaders of Central and Eastern Europe should heed. Today, when communist parties or their socialist persecutors have returned to power in most countries of Eastern and Central Europe, we must understand the reasons behind this, which are greater than expected. Although we understand that profound upheavals and changes are taking place in these countries, what is most difficult is to see that some of today’s political leaders in Eastern European countries have never cleanly severed themselves from the old ideological system, which was based on brutal instruments such as gulag prisons, the Iron Curtain, concentration camps and the secret police, culminating in terrorist regimes such as that of Albania under Enver Hoxha. Nevertheless, the ideas of socialism and communism can not only survive, but reappear in the political landscape. The difficulties along the road to democracy and a market economy created many problems for people who had suffered for decades, and this may be seen as an irony of the history of communism. The revolution in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe may have ended, but it has not yet ended in victory. It is the duty of all EDU parties and their responsible allies to fulfill this historic task: to bring the countries of Eastern Europe a stable democracy by guaranteeing individual freedom and a social market economy, and by bringing people prosperity through the establishment of a stable civil society. Even though the socialist and social-democratic parties of the West have shifted politically toward the center, we must bear in mind that there is always a fundamental distinction in the political world: a divide between those who support the forces of collectivism and those who put individual freedom first. Freedom, not collectivism, is the EDU’s key word. (Continued on page 3) Although the communist dictatorships collapsed, some elements of the old system and even many members of the old ruling class survived in power. Business and the bureaucracy, through the transition to the free market economy, have always seemed to be more and more influential, and the opportunities to see the same kind of major political changes taking place in Central and Eastern European countries have never clearly materialised themselves through their own political system, which was based upon cruel instruments such as the gulags, the iron curtains, the secret police, the camps of terror regimes such as in Albania under Enver Hoxha. Obviously the enthusiasm for democracy in Eastern Europe is often overshadowed by the legacy of cynical communist regimes that are beginning to reappear. However, the ideas of socialism and communism could not only survive, they could even reappear on the political landscape.

The opposition protests Once again, the opposition is protesting, and once again President Berisha is at the center of the fanatics’ protest. They protest because the President of the Republic meets his fellow citizens; they protest because Berisha attacks E. Hoxha; they protest because Berisha was made president by the DP; they protest against Berisha when it rains and when the sun comes out; they protest against Berisha if their shoe hurts or if they quarrel with their wives; they protest... This illness has now taken a firm hold of them and will not let go. But the most interesting and absurd protest is that of Ceka and Gjinoshi, because Berisha went to France. As is known, President Berisha went to France at the invitation of Alois Mock and French Prime Minister Alen Zhypp, yet Gjinoshi and Ceka are still protesting. In fact, they should be protesting against the French Prime Minister and the EDU Executive Secretariat, since they were Berisha’s hosts. Protesting because the President of the Republic accepts an invitation from the French Prime Minister is nothing but utter madness, but by now no one is surprised to see it in politicians such as Gjinoshi and Ceka, who are accustomed to asking Ramiz Alia’s permission even when going into or out of the toilet. E. PALOKA

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