Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001754/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Nikolaos Anadiotis (NI)
On 29 May 2024, the European External Action Service (EEAS) – the Diplomatic Service of the EU – published its Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World.[1] On Albania (p. 7 of the report), it says that local elections ‘on 14 May 2023 were conducted in a generally calm manner’.[2]
In those elections, in the Municipality of Himarë, as we all know, the party of the ethnic Greek candidate from Northern Epirus, Fredi Beleri (now MEP for New Democracy and the EPP), won. However, the losing party continued in office, in fact for 15 months, until August 2024. Never since the 5th century BC, when democracy was established in Ancient Athens, has anything of that kind ever happened. It is unprecedented in the annals of world history for a party that loses an election to continue governing, while the winning party remains in opposition.
In view of this, can the Commission answer the following:
- 1.Why was Albania not formally condemned for this flagrant violation of the fundamental principle of democracy?
- 2.Have the reasons why this fact escaped the notice of the Diplomatic Service of the EU been looked into? Did those who drafted the EEAS Report conduct any investigation into who was responsible for its not being recorded?
Submitted: 18.9.2024