B3-1054, 1087, 1093 and 1097/93

Resolution on Albania

The European Parliament,

A.convinced that good relations between Greece and Albania are essential, both to the two countries concerned and to the region as a whole,

B.deploring the expulsion by the Albanian authorities on 25 June 1993 of the Greek Archimandrite Chrisostomos Maidonis, who had been regularly visiting the Orthodox community in Gjirokastër (southern Albania), and the dispersion of 300 demonstrators by the Albanian police on 30 June in Dervican,

C.having regard to the measures taken at the same time to return the illegal Albanian immigrants living in Greece,

D.appreciating the contribution made to Albania's new market economy by the large number of Albanians who are allowed to live and work in Greece, in spite of the fact that this presents Greece with several problems,

E.whereas the mass immigration of Albanian workers into Greece (around 300 000 people), which is essential for the survival of Albanian society, is a problem of a scale demanding action by the Community,

1.Stresses the importance it attaches to the values of human rights, religious freedom and the rights of ethnic and linguistic minorities, which must be observed fully in all European countries;

2.Calls on the Albanian Government to confirm its commitment to full cultural and religious autonomy for the Greek-speaking minority in Albania and to protect those who wish to exercise these rights;

3.Calls on the governments of Greece and Albania to cooperate in a climate of mutual trust to establish integrated and coordinated cooperation at political, economic and cultural level, since this is an essential precondition for peace in the Balkans within the framework of the Paris Charter;

4.Applauds the work of the Orthodox Archbishop of Tirana, Anastasios Yanoulatos, whose efforts have already done much to resolve the crisis between the two countries and condemns any form of extremism on both sides of the frontier;

5.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Government of Albania and the CSCE secretariat.