Following months of fierce debates and several angry protests, Greece’s Parliament has ratified the Prespa Agreement by 153 votes out of 300 total MPs, under which FYROM agrees to abandon its constitutional name of Republic of Macedonia, used since it gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Instead, the country will call itself North Macedonia ending a bitter feud with Greece, whose northern region is called Macedonia. The ratified agreement in Athens was earlier approved by the Macedonian Parliam ent and paves the way for Greece to lift its veto for Skopje’s membership into NATO and the European Union.

The issue has been keeping bilateral relations between Athens and Skopje under constant deadlock since 1991, only to be shaken by both Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras last year when the two agreed in Prespa to turn the page for both Balkan countries.

Despite a failed referendum last year, social democratic PM Zaev managed to approve the deal in Parliament thanks to 8 defected MPs from the nationalist opposition party VMRO-DPMNE as well as its ethnic Albanian allies in government.

In Athens, the ongoing debate since last year has provoked two no-confidence motions on Tsipras’ government as well as several massive protests by Green nationalists angry that the name ‘Macedonia’ has still been kept by their northern neighbors. The vote marks another victory for Tsipras’s Syriza party while the opposition New Democracy party as well as the extreme right wing Golden Dawn were strongly against the deal.

Following the debate and vote in parliament, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that future generations in both countries will owe gratitude to those MPs who courageously and boldly laid the foundations for a future of peace, solidarity and harmonious coexistence between the two peoples.

“The northern Macedonia that was born today will be a friendly country, ally and supporter of Greece in its efforts for security, stability and co-development in the region.” Wrote Tsipras on Twitter.

According to the bilateral agreement, now ratified by both parliaments, Greece agrees to recognize Macedonia (FYROM) under the new name of ‘Republic of North Macedonia or “Severna Makedonija”, its language as Macedonian and its citizens Macedonians or Citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia, thus opening the door to a new era of cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

Commenting immediately after the vote, Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations my friend @tsipras_eu, together with our peoples we reached a historical victory. Long live the Prespa Agreement! For eternal peace and progress of the Balkans and in Europe!”

Skopje and Athens have been under intense UN mediated negotiations to resolve the name dispute, which dates back to 1991 when Macedonia peacefully broke away from Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia. Greece has since vetoed its NATO and EU integration until a new name acceptable to Athens was agreed.

Last year, the European Commission recommended opening accession talks for Macedonia to join the EU, a scenario which looks more feasible following the landmark agreement between Athens and Skopje.

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The joint decision by Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and its Ministry of Interior came after the extreme conservative MEP participated in the funeral of Kostantinos Kacifas, an ethnic Greek minority gunman shot dead by Albanian police two weeks ago.

The shooting came as a result of Kacifas firing with a Kalashnikov against Albania’s police forces in the southern Albanian village of Bularat, inhabited predominantly by members of the ethnic Greek minority, during a commemorative ceremony honoring fallen Greek soldiers on Albanian territory during the Greko-Italian war. 

Theocharous, known for her extreme nationalist statements and her continuous political engagement against Albania, called the gunman’s shooting an ‘heroic resistance act’ and referred to southern Albania as ‘Vorio-Epirus’, a term used by Greek nationalists to claim Albania’s southern lands as part of Greek territory.

This is not the first time for Theocharous to get into trouble. Last year, Azerbaijan issued an international arrest warrant for the Cypriot MEP and two others, over their visit and support towards breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, currently under Armenian invasion.

Theocharous, 65, heads the Solidarity Movement of Cyprus and is part of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists parliamentary group at the European Parliament. She has constantly attacked Albania’s authorities during various meetings in Brussels, claiming that Albania does not respect the rights of the Greek minority, when in fact, the country is hailed globally for its excellent inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony.

Following a proposal by Albania’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and after consultation with specialized security services of the country, the Ministry of Interior decided to declare Theocharous ‘persona non grata’ and approve MEFA’s request.

“This decision comes as an obligatory constitutional and legal response by the institutions of the Republic of Albania towards repeated extreme acts of Member of European Parliament Eleni Theocharous. Her statements which incite hatred and threaten the constitutional order of our country, encouraging territorial claims against the Republic of Albania, will no longer be delivered on Albanian territory,” – said Glevin Dervishi, a spokesperson for MEFA during an extraordinary press conference this evening in Tirana.

Albanian authorities are expected to pass on the decision through diplomatic channels and will consequently ban Theocharous from entering the country in the future.

“Greece is a friendly country and her people are a valuable asset in our traditional friendship capital. Those individuals or extremist groups who speak of hatred and division, be it in Greek or Albanian languages, will have no chance of undermining our common path for peace and strategic cooperation which serves the future of children in Albania and in Greece”, concluded MEFA’s statement.

The decision of Albania’s authorities follows a highly controversial funeral ceremony of Albanian-Greek citizen Kostantinos Kacifa, which has strained relations between Tirana and Athens during the past two weeks.

What was to be the funeral of an extreme and mentally disturbed gunman shot dead by Albania’s special forces after opening fire on them, turned into a manifestation of radical right wing Greek nationalists, with dozens of them crossing the border into Albania, some of them illegally, during early hours of the morning.

During the highly tense mortal ceremony, hundreds of radicals holding Greek flags marched through Bularat chanting “Bularat is Greece”, “Vorio-Epirus Greek land”, “We shall return and the land will tremble”, “Albanians get out of here”, “Macedonia is Greek” and “Vorio-Epirus will regain its freedom” – slogans which have deeply disturbed Albania’s public opinion.

According to Albanian media, several of them belonged to the radical right-wing political group Golden Dawn in Greece and around 46 people known to police records were turned back into Greece for fear of inciting radical conflicts in Albanian territory. 

12 people were arrested following the tense funeral but later released by Albania’s police. Another 56 Greek citizens of radical tendencies were later declared ‘non grata’ by Albania’s Ministry of Interior.

Yesterday, the Hellenic Parliament held one minute silence in honor of Kacifas, a controversial move likely to pour fuel over the fire and potentially poison the overall good relations between the two Balkan neighbors. Greece is the biggest investor in Albania\’s economy while more than 800,000 Albanians live and work in Greece.

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What was to be the funeral of an extreme and mentally disturbed gunman shot dead by Albania’s special forces after opening fire on them, turned into a manifestation of radical right wing Greek nationalists, with dozens of them  crossing the border into Albania, some of them illegally, during early hours of the morning.

According to Albanian media reporting, several of them belong to the radical right-wing political group Golden Dawn in Greece and around 46 people known to police records were turned back into Greece for fear of inciting radical conflicts in Albanian territory.  

However, during the highly tense mortal ceremony, hundreds of radicals holding Greek flags marched through Bularat chanting “Bularat is Greece”, “Vorio-Epirus Greek land”, “We shall return and the land will tremble”, “Albanians get out of here”, “Macedonia is Greek” and “Vorio-Epirus will regain its freedom” – slogans which deeply disturbed Albania’s public opinion.

Apart from Kacifa’s family and friends, the funeral was also attended by PBDNJ party leader Vangjel Dule and LSI party MP Vangjel Tavo, both belonging to Albania’s ethnic Greek minority population.

The funeral was also attended by radical Greek Cypriot member of the European parliament Eleni Theocharous, whose presence was seen by many in Albania as inciting racial and ethnic hatred on Albanian territory.

“A terrorist is buried ceremonially the same as they do with the Mafia or international terrorists. A mortal ceremony which started as heroic and ended as ridiculous. Pity on them. The Greek state is in crisis and comes here to provoke Albanians,” said Spartak Ngjela, prominent legal expert and political commentator.

Albania’s authorities decided to stay away from the gathering however the country’s police arrested 12 people who were later released in the early hours of the morning. Both Tirana and Athens have reacted in reconciliatory tones, trying to tone down the incident which has upset people on both sides of the border.

Following the highly tense ceremony, Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama tweeted: “Dear neighbours! Instead of calling the death of a mentally deranged person who shot against our police doing its job as unacceptable, join us in thanking God that no innocent lives were lost today from the folly of extremism”.

Greek prime Minister Aleksis Tsipras said during a televised interview that “today was a day of mourning for the family and minority members. I can only say that Greece did the right thing in handling the issue with the Albanian government. We demanded immediate transparency and one of our police force is there to follow further investigation. The dialogue will continue and this should not affect our rapprochement with Albania”.

Konstantinos Kacifa (Katsifas), 35, was shot dead by Albania’s police special forces on Sunday the 28^th October after he opened fire against officers with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. The incident took place as ethnic Greeks were marking the anniversary of the Greco-Italian war at the cemetery of Greek soldiers in the village of Bularat in southern Albania. The area is inhabited by many ethnic Greeks who are fully integrated into Albanian society and are renowned for their prominent figures in the country’s business and political spheres.

Kacifa’s terrorising firing incident inside the village and later evading arrest and shooting at Albania’s police, mark an unusual event in what is seen as a harmonious inter-ethnic country in south-east Europe.

Nationalist Greek networks have attempted at several occasions to provoke tensions in Greek speaking areas in southern Albania, with many radicals referring to the south of Albania as ‘Vorio-Epirus’ or Nothern Epirus which has territorial connotations. However, the Greek minority of Albania which numbers around 60,000 people, is extremely well integrated and a key contributor to Albania’s economy and political life.

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Despite the sizeable 6.8 magnitude in the Richter scale, the island has escaped unscathed with only a few landslides and damages to old Byzantine monuments reported. A handful of people are being treated for minor injuries.

Following the tremors, Greece’s national institute of geophysics issued a tsunami warning asking people to stay away from coastal areas.

The US Geological Survey reported the depth of the quake to be at 16,6km preceded by an initial shock of 5.0 and then followed by a series of smaller aftershocks.

Smaller tremors have been reported overnight in neighboring Albania, Italy as well as in Malta and Libya.

Greece, Albania and Italy lie on major tectonic plates which spread across the Mediterranean basin and the Adriatic sea. Tremors are frequent but rarely cause death casualties.

In 2017 a 6.7 magnitude earthquake killed two persons in the Greek island of Kos while Zante itself was struck by a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake in 1953 leaving tens of hundreds dead and thousands wounded.

The island was left in ruins but has since become a top touristic hotspot in the Ionian Sea with Zakinthos in its southern part visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.

Many of the quakes that strike Greece have their epicenters under the sea. While these can shake up surrounding islands, they rarely cause severe damage. The ancient Greeks attributed earthquakes to the God of the Sea, Poseidon, perhaps because so many of them were centered under the waters.

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People started panicking after a couple of small scale fires near the western seaside areas of Greek capital Athens were spread from strong winds towards residential and touristic areas, chocking entire areas which were blocked to traffic, forcing several people to flee by boat.

Greece has declared a state of emergency and has appealed for help from other countries to help its emergency services which are stretched beyond their normal capacities to combat the worse wildfires in its history since 2007.

Officials have warned the death toll could rise rapidly as fires have burned down entire residential areas with dozens trapped without an escape route.

EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker twitted he was “deeply saddened for the loss of so many lives in this horrible tragedy. The European Commission will spare no effort to help Greece and the Greek people.”

Neighboring Albania issued a statement through its Foreign Ministry pledging to help.

“Albania stands by our Greek neighbors in these difficult times. Rest assured of our solidarity & assistance that may help ease catastrophic consequences of such severe situation.” – the statement read.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras returned immediately home, cutting short an official visit to Bosnia & Herzegovina.

“This is a difficult night for Greece, we are dealing with something completely asymmetric,” – Mr. Tsipras said on Greek TV.

Wildfires are annual normality in Greece, but a drought combined with ghastly winds have made this a specially deadly occurrence.

While the city of Athens has so far been unscathed, its 3,7m metropolitan residents could see smoke and ashes across the city’s skyline.

The fires have so far skirted Athens, leaving the city’s ancient ruins unscathed. A blaze could, however, be seen from the capital, bits of ash fell on the city, and a pall of smoke darkened the skies.

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The summit which was seen by pundits as another failed attempt to direct the spot light on the Western Balkan countries which hope to join the European Union, was overshadowed by the resignation of the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson a day before, by internal rifts between EU heads of state and by a tense negotiating phase between the EU and the UK on a possible Brexit deal.

“It is hard to talk about EU enlargement in London when its Government is negotiating terms to leave the European Union,” – said an Albanian government source to Tirana Echo.

British Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the 6 Western Balkan leaders to London, alongside other European figures including German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

The Summit which raised high expectations, concluded the signing of Joint Declarations on Good Neighbourly Relations, War Crimes and Missing Persons by leaders of the Berlin Process and formal congratulations to Macedonian and Greek Prime Ministers Zaev and Tsipras on securing an historic agreement on resolving the Macedonia name issue. In support of these declarations, the UK will commit to an additional £1 million GBP to help the region address difficult legacy issues.

More significantly perhaps, Prime Minister May announced that the UK will increase its funding to the region to £80 million in 2020 to 2021 and will double the number of UK staff working in the region on the security issues affecting the UK and the Western Balkans. This will help prevent crime reaching UK streets and also help strengthen the region’s own response to serious and organised crime, corruption and money laundering. The UK will also invest £1 million in the region’s cyber capability.

The Summit was the culmination of preparatory meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Security, and Economy and Finance Ministers in Vienna and London and is part of a larger Berlin Process started by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2014, geared towards reaffirming the European perspective of Western Balkan countries.

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The meeting comes days after Tirana Echo voiced concerns that ongoing negotiations between the two Balkan neighbors are blocked by the sensitive Cham issue of over 20,000 ethnic Albanian Greeks expelled from their homes in Greece who lived in the northern region of Chameria (now renamed by the Greeks to Thesprotia) during the second world war. Greece maintains there’s nothing to discuss as those expelled were judged as Nazi collaborators during the second world war by Greek courts.

After the meeting of Edi Rama and Alexis Tsipras in London, the Albanian Government\’s website published a statement saying the two government heads discussed on bilateral relations and ongoing negotiations between the two countries on a large number of issues which are being led by the respective foreign ministers. The two praised the progress of the negotiations and the accomplishments to date.

\”Though there are still issues to be discussed by negotiating teams, Prime Ministers Rama and Tsipras voiced confidence that a positive solution could be achieved soon.\” – says the statement, suggesting that the deal which was initially expected to be signed during Easter time, is being stalled.

Diplomatic sources are hinting that although Tsipras and Rama agree on most things already negotiated, the Cham issue could blow up the entire deal between the two neighboring countries, as the agreement would allegedly wipe out the term \’Chameria\’ from all Albanian text books, which would be totally unacceptable to its 300,000 Cham population as well as the majority of Albanian public opinion.

The historic strategic deal which would solve an unmarked maritime border between the two countries, it would lift Greece’s state-of-war law against Albania, it would reinforce rights of mutual ethnic communities in both countries and it would sanction the building of several Greek-Italian war cemeteries on Albanian territory in addition to a revision of historical text books in both countries.

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According to Greek newspaper Ekathimerini, the Greek Prime Minister’s Office is reportedly waiting for the name deal’s ratification in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece before it tackles the Albanian issues.

However, while officially Greece maintains it needs more time due to Macedonia name change, analysts point out to the sensitive Cham issue as being the real Achilles’ heel in bilateral negotiations, which the Greek side has categorically excluded from talks.

The historic strategic deal which would solve an unmarked maritime border between the two countries, it would lift Greece’s state-of-war law against Albania, it would reinforce rights of mutual ethnic communities in both countries and it would sanction the building of several Greek-Italian war cemeteries on Albanian territory.

While the agreement was expected to be signed within June by prime ministers Tsipras and Rama in Corfu, a diplomatic source who does not wish to be named, told Tirana Echo that internal pressure at home, has forced Albania’s PM Edi Rama to demand the Cham issue back on the negotiating table, a request which is completely refuted by Greece, which maintains there is no Cham issue.

Despite repeated Albanian requests to solve the old grudge over its 20,000 ethnic Albanian Greeks expelled from their homes in Greece who lived in the northern region of Chameria (now renamed by the Greeks to Thesprotia) – Greece maintains there’s nothing to discuss as those expelled were judged as Nazi collaborators during the second world war by Greek courts.

The Chams, who now account for over 300,000 Albanian citizens, are enraged that a new deal would drop historical names such as Chameria from official use and school text books. They have already had to accept the removal of their old birthplaces from Albanian passports while several members of their community are denied entry into Greece. Now, they fear their past may be wiped from Albanian historical text books.

Earlier this year, several thousand Albanian Chams, who now have their own political party in Albania, demanded that Athens issues an apology for what they called a genocide against their families after WW2.

Carrying placards reading “We will never forget the Genocide”, and “Freedom to Cameria”, the demonstrators demanded that Greece allows them to return to Epirus, northern Greece, from where they left.

Addressing the rally, Shpetim Idrizi, the leader of the Cham party PDIU said they wanted first “an apology for thousands of Chams killed at home.”

“We Albanians of Chameria do not want a revenge, we do not want a change of borders, we want an apology so we can be able to forgive and the two peoples can live peacefully and we can return to live in our homes,” Idrizi said.

While the hot Cham issue continues to undermine relations between Athens and Tirana, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras will meet in London tomorrow during a special EU-Western Balkans Summit.

Diplomatic sources are hinting that although Tsipras and Rama agree on most things already negotiated, the Cham issue could blow up the entire deal between the two neighboring countries.

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Following a Foreign Ministers Council earlier in the week, EU heads of member states said in a statement they endorse their foreign ministers’ decision to open accession talks by the end of 2019, pending progress in both countries.

The decision comes as a blow to political leaders both in Tirana and Skopje, who expected negotiations would start this year, prompting opposition groups to accuse both Albanian and Macedonian prime ministers of failing to convince the EU.

However, the EU Summit reportedly based their decision on French and Dutch concerns over substantial progress needed both in Tirana and in Skopje before accession talks could formally be opened. The decision was further shadowed by the huge internal rift over immigration on European soil, notably between Italy and Germany.

Commenting on the EU Council decision, Albanian prime minister Edi Rama did not hide his disappointment at the 12 month postponement but said the EU Summit could have ended without an agreed text.

“I am extremely pleased that despite the huge internal difficulties the European Union faces today and despite the different approach adopted by some countries, the agenda of Europeanization and integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union has not been left behind. This is of fundamental importance to us both Albania and Macedonia” – Rama said during a conference with EU Ambassadors in Tirana.

While accession talks are already underway for both Serbia and Montenegro, the European Commission recommended earlier this year that negotiations start with both Albania and Macedonia, with the latter agreeing to solve a long conflict over a name dispute with its southern neighbor Greece.

All Western Balkan countries hope to join an increasingly skeptical and tired European Union with a target agenda of 2025 for final steps of membership.

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According to data seen by Kathimerini, Greek authorities have since 2000 issued 184 arrest warrants for Albanian nationals charged with criminal acts. None of them has been caught.

Fourteen international arrest warrants have been issued this year for Albanians who are reported to have fled to the neighboring country. In 2017 authorities issued 21 warrants, while 26 were issued the year before.

Senior Greek Police (ELAS) officers have told Kathimerini that the felons are not extradited to Greece because Albanian judicial and law enforcement authorities are reluctant to do so.

“In cases when we ask for the extradition of suspects they ask us to send the case files translated [into Albanian] so that they are not extradited to Greece and face trial in Albania,” a police source said.

Source: Kathimerini

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