Tirana-Rome: The Adriatic or Kosovo in Between?
AIM Tirana, 17 May, 1998
Frequent arrivals and departures of Italian officials on all levels have become obvious since the beginning of May in Tirana. They are coming mostly to make preparations for the visit of Italian prime minister Prodi on 27 May on the occasion of which he will open the Fair of the East which is advertised on all state and private TV stations in Albania. After Prodi, the minister of foreign affairs, Dini is also expected to visit Tirana, along with a part of the Italian government. All this activity has a single explanation: joint interest of the Italians and the Albanians for development of mutual relations.
Italy is the main economic partner of Albania: it ranks first according to export and import, it ranks first according to the amount of economic aid (more than all the countries of EU put together), and what is the most important, it ranks first according to investments in Albania. About one hundred Italian investors are present in Albania at the moment, with about 200-billion-lira worth of investments, 3,500 Italians are in Albania either on business, or as activists of humanitarian associations, military or police experts and so on.
According to a report of the Italian foreign ministry, Albania will donate 400 billion liras in various forms in the course of next three years: 110 billion are already activated in different projects, and another 210 billion are awaiting to be allocated into different priority fields such as reconstruction of institutions, development of the bad Albanian infrastructure and so on; 60 billion liras is intended for re-start of chromium industry which Italy is especially interested in as a country which is a significant importer of raw-material.
Apart from the bilateral aspect, Italy is appearing also as an advocate of Albania in international institutions. The latest example is Italian political sponsorship of the agreement between Albania and the International Monetary Fund to be signed next year, called ESAF 2. The political aspect of the Italian stand is that Italian support is used for promotion of policy of Nano's government in the past few months, for the increase of its international credibility. The economic aspect is in the fact that according to the ESAF 2 agreement, the International Monetary Fund will give Albania about 180 million dollars in the course of next three years as assistance to its finances and its balance of payments. It is believed that this agreement will have the value of the green light for accelerated aid or loans planned by the international community for Albania at three conferences on different levels which took place last year also with Italy as the sponsor. Well informed diplomatic sources clearly state that Italian persistence in favour of this agreement has managed to overcome American scepticism in the International Monetary Fund concerning capability of Nano's government to prepare a stabilizing medium term plan and to definitely shut down pyramidal systems.
However, regardless of these developments, it seems that differences still exist, so that the prevailing opinion among political analysts is that relations on the political level between the two countries still lag behind those in the economic sphere.
A part of the differences and discontent is, however, linked to the economy again. Giving certain privileges to Greek businessmen in a few sectors of Albanian economy gave rise to an understandable jealousy among Italian businessmen which simply had to be reflected on politics. The tender for construction of roads in Albania with European financial support of Greek company SARANTOPULOS was accepted, leaving the Italians, known as traditionally good road constructors, discontented. At the moment the Greeks have three banks in Tirana, while the Italians have only one, a joint venture of the greatest Italian bank - BANCO DI ROMA and the Albanian national bank. Import from Greece, perhaps due to lower prices over there is also increasing.
In the conclusion it could be stated that the Albanian-Italian relations, although more stable than those between Albania and Greece, have never reached the highest level. In general, Italy looks upon Albania more as a problem than as a neighbour.
On the other hand, it seems that Tirana is not satisfied with the mild Italian stand towards Milosevic in the Contact Group. It is not just the Adriatic Sea that stretches between Tirana and Rome, with all its problems (emigrants, illegal trade, etc.) but there is also Kosovo with all its problems. At the past meeting of foreign minister Paskal Milo with special envoy of Italian foreign minister Dini - Mr. Vattani, who also chaired the Roman meeting of the Contact Group, Milo did not hesitate to demand explanation for the reasons of the lack of contact and attention of Rome for Tirana, at the time when the others (Solana, Gelbard, Talbock, Geremek, Van der Broek) landed at the airport in Rinas in order to hear official options of Tirana. At the same time, Albanian foreign minister resolutely refused the Italian proposal for urgent opening of "talks on talks" between Belgrade and Pristina. What were the reasons for the shaken Italian stand? "Interruption of further spreading of German economic influence in Yugoslavia and as part of it, signing of a few contracts between Yugoslav state enterprises (contract on purchasing of majority of shares of Yugoslav Telecom for about 700 billion liras), possibility of construction of a gas pipeline which would from Russia via Yugoslavia reach Italy, and finally, lack of powerful means of exerting pressure which are often in the hands of the Americans, etc., are some of the reasons which explain the mild Italian stand towatds the Serbs", the Albanian press quoted a few days ago an Italian political analyst.
It is not known to what extent Vincenzo Paglia, mediator of the agreement on education (between Rugova and Milosevic) has anything to do with Italian politics, but the press in Tirana did not shrink from presenting him as Milosevic's guardian angel before the meeting in Rome.
Tirana which considers itself to be close to Washington concerning the question iof Kosovo, followed closely the latest visit of prime minister Prodi to the USA. It is believed that there are two factions in the Italian government, a sharper one in relation to Milosevic or Andreati's faction, and the faction with a mild stand towards him or Dini's faction, who is believed to be closely linked to Italian financial circles and economic interests in Yugoslavia. The Italian stand which seems to go along the line of "neither status quo nor independence of Kosovo, everything else is acceptable", remains confused and indecisive. Italian indecisiveness is felt in Tirana as something that works neither in favour of Kosovo nor of Albania.
AIM Tirana
Arben KOLA