euractiv
Published: 04 February 2011
There is no end in sight to Albania's political crisis and January's fatal demonstrations have shaken what little faith remained among EU leaders and institutions, write Bledar Feta and Dr. Ioannis Armakolas from the 'Athens Working Group: Transforming the Balkans' at the Hellenic Centre for European Studies (EKEM).
This commentary was sent to EurActiv by the Hellenic Centre for European Studies (EKEM).
''As American and European Union officials scramble to make sense of the 'Jasmine Revolution' sweeping the Middle East, there is another unstable political crisis in Europe's backyard.
Albania's crisis has entered its second year with no end in sight for the impasse that arose from the disputed 2009 parliamentary elections. The country's progress toward European integration is blocked and the absence of political dialogue threatens the country's stability. The political stand-off has coincided with high-level corruption scandals and, according to government estimates, approximately 14 percent unemployment sending Albanians to the streets out of desperation and pessimism about the country's domestic situation.
This discontent turned violent on 21 January when officers of the National Guard shot and killed three people protesting against Sali Berisha's government, leaving a fourth in critical condition. The details of what happened are heavily disputed. Over 130 people, police and demonstrators included, were injured. Protests are commonplace in Albania but this 20,000 person outburst marked the most violent clash since the 1997 Pyramid Crisis, when thousands of Albanians were left penniless by a stock market bubble.
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