Brussels, 04/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 2 March, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle spoke of his disappointment at the decision of the ruling majority in Albania to organise a referendum on the approval of the two draft laws and the parliamentary rules of procedure - which are needed for the EU to grant Tirana candidate status - without the opinion of the opposition. “I have been repeatedly stressing that the laws, and in particular the rules of procedure, need to be approved through consensus between the opposition and government, and therefore it is difficult to understand this decision that goes against the spirit of inclusiveness”, Füle said in a press release. He added that, in this case, opting for a referendum “is not the way how the cross-party consensus is being built. It cannot be a way to bypass the lack of dialogue and constructive cooperation between the government and opposition on the EU agenda. It is not the way to meet the necessary requirements.”
Füle strongly encouraged all the politicians to find an agreement on how to proceed with the completion of the key measures, reiterating that he had explained on several occasions that the process must be “sustainable, self-motivated and consensus-driven” and that “only a constructive political dialogue can move the necessary reforms forward”.
On 1 March, the parliamentary committee for laws of the Albanian parliament adopted - with only the votes of the ruling majority - a call for a referendum to be held on the approval of these three draft laws, while the opposition boycotted the meeting. Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the president of the parliament, Jozefina Topalli, were the first to sign the call for a referendum. The leader of the Socialist parliamentary group, Gramoz Ruci, contested the inclusion of an initiative sponsored by the government, saying that the initiative was “illegal”. The three texts - which require qualified majority - have until now been blocked in the parliament. (CG/transl.fl)