VZCZCXRO4869
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTI #0981/01 3170925
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130925Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6392
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000981 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA 5 CLASS MARKINGS) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, NOVEMBER 3-10, 2007 
 
 
TIRANA 00000981  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) The following is a weekly report prepared by Embassy 
Tirana's local staff to provide political and economic context and 
insight into developments in Albania.  These updates will supplement 
post's DAR reports and reporting cables. 
 
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Keep the Pedal to the Metal:  Amid growing expectations for 
a 2008 invitation to NATO membership, USNATO Ambassador Victoria 
Nuland spearheaded a U.S. interagency delegation to assess Albania's 
progress.  Following meetings with President Topi, Prime Minister 
Berisha and other senior officials, Ambassador Nuland in a press 
conference praised the country's contributions to regional stability 
but called for greater progress on judicial and electoral reform. 
"Our message today was that Albania has made a huge amount of 
progress but as we head towards the Bucharest summit, now is the 
time to keep the foot on the reform gas pedal and keep rolling," 
Nuland said.  NATO integration remains the GOA's top priority, with 
overwhelming support from Albanian citizens.  As the country's hopes 
to enter the EU remain distant, the GOA is making every effort to 
prepare a strong case ahead of the Bucharest Summit in April of next 
year. 
 
¶3.  (U) Deepening the Ties that Bind: Albanian leaders have forged 
deeper ties with Canada through two recent visits, marking a new 
chapter in bilateral relations.  During PM Berisha's visit last week 
to attend the General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association, 
Canadian PM Stephen Harper singled out Albania's strong 
contributions to NATO, particularly in Afghanistan, and emphasized 
that Canada puts Albania at the top of the list of NATO aspirants. 
 
¶4.  (U) This visit follows on the heels of Speaker Jozefina Topalli, 
who highlighted Albania's progress on NATO reforms and regional 
contribution toward solutions for Kosovo, part of the GOA's broader 
effort to convince NATO members to vote "yes" in Bucharest next 
year. 
 
¶5.  (U) The PG's Fate in Topi's Hands: President Bamir Topi 
received official word this week that Parliament recommends the 
dismissal of Prosecutor General (PG) Sollaku. Approval from the 
President would conclude a two-year effort by the government to 
remove Sollaku.  Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court agreed to hear 
Sollaku's case to invalidate Parliament's recommendation on November 
¶26.  Action on these developments will be taken amid a growing 
consensus from all political sides that a solution must be found to 
end the current impasse between the office of the PG and the 
government. 
 
"Whatever must happen ultimately should happen immediately."  -- 
Henry A. Kissinger 
 
¶6.  (U) Corruption Arrests Continue:  Ongoing discussions over the 
fate of the PG have not disrupted cooperation between law 
enforcement agencies to combat corruption.  On November 8, 
authorities arrested the General Secretary of the Ministry of Labor, 
Spartak Gjini, and two colleagues on charges of corruption through 
tender procedures.  The officials were arrested following a three 
month investigation by the new Joint Investigative Unit.  It is the 
second high profile arrest of government officials in recent weeks. 
 
 
¶7.  (U) Miles to Go Before We Sleep: On November 6, the European 
Commission released its annual strategy on EU enlargement, including 
a summary of Albania's progress toward EU integration. The report 
highlights recent  success in solidifying the market economy and 
aligning legislation with EU standards and policies.  It calls for 
further progress to strengthen the rule of law, particularly 
constructive dialogue between the parties to implement electoral and 
judicial reforms, and improved operation of public administration. 
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said:  "Albania has made some 
progress in recent months in the fight against corruption and 
operation of public administration, but it is clear that more 
remains to be done before we move to the next stage of membership 
into the EU." 
 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS 
--------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Diversifying the Mobile Market: The GOA announced it will 
launch a fourth mobile phone license to increase competition in this 
fast-growing market.  With a lack of fixed line capacity, mobile 
usage has increased from 15,0 sr n20 tto 1.9 million in 
2007, u lbana utmr ay some of the highest rate nte 
region.  Two operators, AMC (a subsidiary of the Cosmote Group) and 
Vodaphone, currently share the lucrative market of $450 million 
annual revenue.  A third company, Eagle, will join them in early 
¶2008. 
 
ARTS AND CULTURE 
---------------- 
 
TIRANA 00000981  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) Tirana Fashion Week:  Tirana's first Fashion Week kicked off 
Thursday, October 25, showcasing designers from Albania, Kosovo, 
Macedonia and Greece in two weeks of events.  Sixty Albanian models 
wore the latest European and Balkan fashions as well as clothes 
inspired by folk culture and national dress, accompanied by folk 
music.  (See http://blog.nj.com/fashiontoday 
/2007/10/fashion_week_tirana.html for photos.)  The event was 
organized by Joni Peci, a young Albanian recently returned from 
abroad to help build a better Albania. 
 
PERSON OF THE WEEK 
------------------ 
¶10. (U) Inva Mula: Albania's most renowned opera singer is perhaps 
best known to American audiences as the soprano voice behind the 
Diva in the film "The Fifth Element."  She began her opera career at 
an early age, studying classical music at the Academy of Arts in 
Tirana.  The fall of communism gave her an international audience, 
and she was the winner of the first Placido Domingo Operalia 
Competition in 1993.  Graced with a flexible voice and extensive 
range, her career took off in duets with Domingo performed at the 
world's most distinguished halls.  Creative expression runs in 
Mula's family, as her Albanian father is an accomplished opera 
singer and her mother a Russian-born artist.  She was born in Tirana 
in 1963. 
QUOTE OF THE WEEK 
------------------ 
¶11.  (U) "We have constantly emphasized that prolongation of the 
process holds the real risk of losing trust in the process as a 
whole and would place the Kosovo political class and the future 
security of Kosovo and the region to a useless and risky test." 
     Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha 
 
WITHERS