The New Democracy MEP in the European Parliament, Fredi Beleri, has raised several questions to the European Commission regarding Albania's plans to create a sovereign Bektashi state in Tirana.
Plans which were announced on Sunday, September 22, from the podium of the General Assembly of the United Nations by Prime Minister Edi Rama, who a day earlier had also stated his idea in the prestigious "New York Times".
Beleri, who is also a member of the EP Delegation to the EU-Albania Stabilization-Association Parliamentary Committee, underlines that according to what is known so far, "the autonomous and independent state will be called the "Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order" and that "it will have its own diplomatic documents, borders, but also a separate administrative structure". In addition, he notes, "only Shiite Muslims, members of the Sufi religious community, will be naturalized in the new state (within the Albanian state).
For these reasons, the ND MEP asks the European Commission what its position is "on this new possible state and whether its creation violates the accepted path for Albania's membership" and, if it does, "what additional criteria can be settled".
He also asks if "the creation of such a state, which would not hold elections, is in accordance with the political criteria of Copenhagen that must be fulfilled by every country for the functioning of institutions that guarantee democracy, the rule of law, the rights of human rights and the respect and protection of minorities" and what "diplomatic steps" the European Commission intends to take "to ensure the peaceful coexistence of all religious communities in Albania".
The questions that Beleri raised in the European Commission:
What is the position of the Commission regarding the creation of this new state and does it violate the conditions agreed for the process of Albania's membership in the EU? If so, what additional criteria can be imposed?
Is the creation of such a state, without holding elections, compatible with the political criteria of Copenhagen, which require each country to ensure the functioning of institutions that guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, as well as respect and the protection of minorities?
What diplomatic steps does the Commission intend to undertake to ensure the peaceful coexistence of all religious communities in Albania?