Former German MEP Doris Pack slams Albania Government of Criminal Links – Backs Technical Government

Brussels | Tirana Echo – What is taking place in Albania is madness and the creations of a technical government is the only way out, has said former MEP Doris Pack who chairs the Women Branch at the European People’s Party (EPP) in Brussels, according to Albanian media reports.

One day ahead of European Parliament envoys David McAllister (EPP) and Knut Fleckenstein (S&D) arrive in Tirana to mediate a solution for Albania’s ongoing political crisis, Doris Pack has said that McAllister from the EPP is the right mediator for finding a way out while criticizing the country’s center left government.

Pack who met with Democratic Party MP Albana Vokshi, said the Government is linked to crime and expressed her dismay at the silence of foreign diplomats in front of such developments.

“What is actually happening in Albania is crazy. The country is full of drugs, a danger not only for Albania turning into a major country for cultivation and export of narcotics, but also for the environment where Albanian children grow. In Parliament and public administration there are tens of persons with criminal records who are supported by Rama’s power, while lots of professionals have been dismissed because of their political convictions.” – said Pack during a meeting of EPP women in Brussels.

Reportedly, Pack said that taking into account the current conditions of Albania, the establishment of a technical government which can organize free and fair elections would be the only solution.

Meanwhile in response to Pack’s comments, Socialist MP Taulant Balla, a faithful aide to PM Rama and co-chair of the electoral reform parliamentary committee, accused Pack of helping the current deadlock in justice reform.

“Whoever is worried about crime in Albania should first of all ask their friends the Democratic Party to stop their efforts in blocking the Vetting process. The fight against cannabis and corruption would be more successful if we had honest judges and prosecutors.” – said Balla on his Facebook wall.

Balla added that the efforts of Doreis Pack to find excuses for DP’s unreasonablee parliamentary boycott will not discourage Albanian citizens to vote for Edi Rama in June.

It is not the first time that the ‘tough’ former right wing MEP slams the socialist Albanian government as well as EU diplomats accredited in the small Balkan country.

During a visit to Tirana in February, Pack said there was a lack of will to decriminalize politics and fight narcotics and organized crime, while criticizing the head of the EU delegation to Tirana Romana Vlahutin over a shady luxury villa acquisition in Tirana with EU money.

‘Honestly, I would be humiliated if the alleged corruption affair addressed toward the EU Ambassador, Romana Vlahutin was true. It is a shame for the European Union, asking you to deal with corruption and decriminalization and on the other hand becoming involved in such shady affairs,’ stated Doris Pack.