Greece and Albania fail to agree on maritime border issue in Prague – EURACTIV.com

Albania and Greece do not agree on the issue of maritime borders between the two countries, despite the meeting of the two prime ministers on the sidelines of the European Political Community in Prague on Thursday.

In 2009, the two countries agreed to delimit the continental shelf in the waters between them, but Prime Minister Edi Rama, then in opposition, took the case to the Constitutional Court.

He argued that the deal gave Greece some 225 square kilometers of Albanian waters. The court accepted and relations deteriorated between Athens and Tirana. Since Rama took power in 2013, the issue has yet to be resolved and it was announced in October 2021 that the case would be taken to an international court.

Rama said no consensus had been reached and the case would be taken to the International Tribunal in The Hague.

“It’s a legal process, there are a number of rules, there are a number of procedures, and we will follow the procedures from start to finish because we have to make our position very clear, we have to do that. very clearly what we mean in this process and this unified attitude required of this tribunal as to what one party intends and what the other party intends, requires its own time. no consensus between the parties,” Rama said.

In 2011, leaked US diplomatic cables claimed that Greece had blackmailed Albania into agreeing to an unfavorable deal, using Athens’ veto over EU enlargement. Greece has publicly made similar suggestions on the unresolved issue of Cham.

At the first meeting of the European Political Community, Rama announced that the Western Balkan countries would participate in the discussion with the European Union to deal with the energy crisis.

“During the round table where I was with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, the focus was precisely on the energy crisis and on how our countries, starting with those negotiating membership, can be helped directly. While I have insisted that there should be no difference here and that all countries should be included, the six countries”, underlining previous calls for EU assistance in a context of soaring prices.