Former Italian Prime Minister: Do not leave Albania in Turkey's hands

Italy's former prime minister and former European Commission President Romano Prodi has dedicated an editorial to Italy's relations with Albania and the impact of Mediterranean relations in a comprehensive European development published today in “Il Mesaggero”

Prodi requires greater attention of Italy and even a national strategy remembering co-operation in 1997 and beyond, while stressing that a new south cannot be built if a Mediterranean policy is not activated in the meantime and our “South will never be able to renew if there is a desert full of” around it.

The former Italian prime minister further raises the fact that Italian influence has given way to Turkish influence. He says Turkey's increased presence in Albania comes both from friendship between Turkish President Erdogan and Albanian Prime Minister Rama.

Our language curriculum suffers from limited resources, while Rai's presence has become marginal and has left the country to Turkey, which is becoming increasingly active with broadcasts in Turkish and Albanian translations. While not yet with the same intensity as in other Balkan countries, the Turkish presence is growing in all areas, from public works to culture, from the military sector to an increasingly deep religious insight, through support for a capillary network of”, Prodi writes among other things.

THE PLOWING SCRIPTURE PUBLESED IN I L MESAGERO
Albania's case/ Relations in the Southern Mediterranean
The last few days we finally started talking about South again.
I've read about this, analysis of all kinds and proposals of certain effectiveness, many of which are based on resources made available by new European politics. However, I am convinced that a new South cannot be built unless a Mediterranean policy is activated already. Our south will never be able to renew if there is a troubled desert around it.
Clearly, a general improvement can only be achieved with a common European policy, as is not happening for Libya or Lebanon. For these issues, Italy's primary role should be to raise the problem daily in a Europe that has never considered the Mediterranean the main goal of its policy. However, there are cases of particular interest in Italy that can and should be included on our daily agenda: cases in which domestic and foreign politics are inseparably overlap.
Among these, I think of the need for greater attention to Albania.

After Italy, with the Alba mission in 1997, strongly contributed to Albania's calming and its approach to Western democracies, the two countries have been strongly integrated with each other.
It is estimated that seven hundred thousand Albanians live in our country and that two hundred thousand of them even have dual citizenship. Given that the total number of Albanian citizens living in Albania is about two million and eight hundred thousand, it is about human relations of unique importance.

Economic relations are not less intense: in fact, trade with Italy exceeds 20% of Albanian GDP, while more than a thousand Italian companies operate in Albania and nearly thirty thousand Albanian companies are active in our country, even if many are very small in size. The data on the intensity of our relations does not stop with the economic aspect: many ministers, starting with Prime Minister Edi Rama, speak Italian, and the recognition of our language is still widespread, even though it has gradually lost ground in front of English, now dominant in the younger age groups.

Of course, we should not overlook the fact that the first wave of Albanian immigration has aroused in many Italians a strong sense of distrust, as it is associated with widespread crime phenomena. However, we must, objectively, accept that close co-operation between the two countries is progressively reducing this phenomenon. Even considering that the Albanian judicial system still poses major problems and is subject to endless controversy, its slow progress is also the result of a co-operation with our judicial system. In various ways, Italian magistrates have operated in Albania for some time, providing valuable assistance to their counterparts. Even wider is the work of Guardia di Finanza and the Ministry of Interior, which have long been engaged, in collaboration with local authorities, in curbing criminal phenomena, including a considerable production of cannabis, which is later directed to our country.

If positive data of co-operation between Italy and Albania is not lacking, however, results every day more difficult to strengthen them or simply renew them. Our language curriculum suffers from limited resources, while Rai's presence has become marginal and has left the country to Turkey, which is becoming increasingly active with broadcasts in Turkish and Albanian translations. Although not yet with the same intensity as in other Balkan countries, the Turkish presence is growing in all areas, from public works to culture, from the military sector to an ever deeper religious penetrate, through support for a glass network. A presence strengthened by friendship between Turkish President Erdogan and Albanian Prime Minister Rama, increasingly attentive in terms of his colleague's political elections.

Not only is Turkey strengthening its presence in Albania (which let us not forget it was under Ottoman control from 1478 to 1912), but Russia and Germany are also increasing their influence and China is looking at everything with increased attention.
In the opposite direction, only France's path, which even opposed the start of negotiations for Albania's entry into the European Union, thus prompting the Balkan country to look beyond Europe itself.

It would be appropriate for Italy to oppose this French stance with greater determination and I believe it is in our interest to pay much more attention to our neighbouring country so that we can continue past relations and strengthen their effectiveness with a national level strategy.

Some signs in this direction are already taking place, such as the substantial contribution to reconstruction after the earthquake last year, the last health mission to combat Covid and a renewed commitment by Eni. However, areas in which we will increase our presence are still many: from that school, cultural and language to that of justice and security to economic and military.