consulate events
Ambassador Marcie Ries in Thessaloniki
Speech on October 17, 2005
Balkan Studies Institute
US Ambassador to Tirana, Ms. Marcie Berman Ries visited Thessaloniki invited by the Balkan Studies Institute on October 17, 2005 and spoke about "Albania Today: Looking Toward the Future" to a group of academics, diplomats, businessmen and students.
Following is Ambassador Ries’ speech
Remarks by Ambassador Marcie B. Ries
Institute of Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki
October 17, 2005
“Albania Today: Looking Toward the Future”
Good evening everyone. Thank you for the warm welcome. I am delighted to speak at this distinguished forum. I would like to start by thanking Professor Kondis and the Institute for your kind invitation. I would also like to express my appreciation to the staff of the American Consulate General here in Thessaloniki for helping to facilitate my visit and I have to say especially to the Consul General, Demitra Pappas, whom I worked with before.
Although this is my first visit to Thessaloniki, I do visit Greece often, as I have a somewhat special reason for coming. I think you all probably know what that is. It isn’t often that we get to hear each other’s speeches, so I am very pleased that your Ambassador Ries is here tonight.
For almost one year now, I have had the privilege of serving as the American Ambassador to Albania – so I am glad to be visiting one very good friend and ally of the United States to talk about another country with which the U.S. enjoys an excellent relationship. Albania is an outstanding partner of the United States in the Global War on Terror, has generously contributed troops to the European force, EUFOR, in Bosnia, and also maintains a deployment of commandos in Iraq.
Tonight, I would like to speak about where I think Albania is today and where I think it is heading. I strongly believe that Albania is moving in a positive direction, that is, towards genuine democracy, membership in Euro-Atlantic structures, and integration into the global free-market economy.
You could say, well, diplomats are paid to be optimistic, but I would like to talk about the kinds of changes I see every day that are indicative of the encouraging direction in which I believe Albania as a whole is heading. Perhaps you have heard about the very colorful changes in Tirana. Attractive new buildings are under construction throughout the city. Roads are being improved. Enterprising young Albanians, many of who have returned from living and working abroad, are opening new businesses every day. There are international art exhibitions, cultural performances, film festivals, and restaurants and cafes. Every day I meet people who are working hard to affect positive change in the city.
This same pace of development has not spread to all parts of Albania, but even in provincial cities there is good progress. The travel and tourism industries are developing: in Tirana, two first class international hotels have opened in the past few years, and many new hotels have opened on the Albanian coast. A new gondola line takes visitors to the top of Mount Dajti, allowing for breathtaking views of Tirana below. This past summer, for the first time, cruise ships docked on Albania’s coast and passengers explored the interior. Progress has been made in developing Butrint, a beautiful and historically significant archaeological site and national park. You of course can get there easily from Corfu. I might add that many Americans and Greeks are working together at Butrint and other sites to aid in restoration efforts.
Putting these changes in perspective, it is truly remarkable how far Albania has come since 1991, when its people overthrew one of the most repressive and closed regimes in the history of the modern nation-state. The disastrous communist legacy and the general low level of economic development, a legacy of the pre-communist period, meant that Albania started its post-communist transition under vastly more difficult conditions than other countries in the region. Yet, since then, Albanians have made remarkable strides in democratizing their country and society. Indeed, using the words of a renowned theorist of democracy, Albanians have shown that building democracy is the art of the possible, and not just the probable.
The progress made lends itself to optimism, but I also want to highlight several other things about Albania today.
In the sphere of domestic politics, the recent elections were a turning point, not because of who won or lost, but because they were the most legitimate elections in Albania in the post-communist period. These elections were not perfect, and voting had to be repeated in several districts, but, in the end, all sides accepted the results and a peaceful transfer of power took place. This represents a significant step toward genuine democracy, where all players accept the rules of the game, as well as outcomes. We have witnessed the peaceful rotation of power between two moderate political parties that have different roots but nevertheless agree on key goals, such as democracy, development of a free-market economy and Euro-Atlantic integration. It is notable that these goals find broad support in the Albanian public as well, a public which is multi-religious and yet tolerant; a public in which nationalist and extremist ideologies have little resonance; a public that is highly supportive of NATO and EU membership.
One final point about positive developments in domestic politics: although corruption continues to be a serious problem, the fact that recently it has been openly discussed and publicly debated is encouraging. In fact the new government has made fighting corruption and organized crime top priorities. We think these are good priorities and glad to do what we can to support them.
In the economic sphere, there are many reasons for optimism. At over 6 percent per year, Albanian growth rates have been the highest in Europe for the past two years. Inflation is low due to responsible monetary and fiscal policies. Most sectors of the economy, including agriculture and construction, appear to have performed quite well in the first part of 2005. Albania is a member of the WTO, over 90 percent of its trade is with EU countries, and Greece is Albania’s second largest trading partner. Textiles and building materials represent successful exports. Thanks to a vigorous privatization program, the private sector accounts for over 75 percent of GDP and 80 percent of employment.
That said, Albania's GDP is still the lowest in Europe after Moldova. Albanians still look to countries beyond their borders for economic opportunity. In the fifteen years since the fall of communism, many have chosen to move to the countries of Europe, including Greece, or to the United States to find employment for themselves and a better future for their children. I believe this trend is turning around now, though we don’t as yet have solid, statistical evidence to prove it. Of course to the extent Albanians feel and see the results of economic progress in their own country, the more they will want to remain in Albania and be a part of that growth and development.
Albania has made a point of cultivating good relations with all of its neighbors even though it lives in a volatile neighborhood. In 1999 Albanians played a very constructive role in helping to resolve conflict in Kosovo and successive governments have made a point of cultivating good relations with all countries in the region. The previous foreign minister held the first meeting with a Serb counterpart in 40 years and his successor had a similar meeting during the recent U.N. General Assembly. It is noteworthy that NATO and EU membership is at the center of Albania's foreign policy and that there is consensus across the entire political spectrum on these goals. The U.S. is fully supportive of the effort that Albania is making to meet the criteria for membership and hopes for success. Finally, Albania promises to continue to play a critical moderating role in the region. This will be even more important this year, especially if talks begin on the future status of Kosovo.
These are all good reasons to be optimistic. However, this does not mean that the country is without its problems. Although the economy has performed well in many ways, there are still problems of unemployment and poverty, especially in rural areas, and they help contribute to social ills. The fact that new government has made legal reform and fighting corruption a priority should help in creating a better climate for investment and economic growth. The education and health sectors, the backbone of social and economic development, suffer from under-funding and poor infrastructure. Here, again, the problems are recognized and, especially in education, there is now a focus on how to make improvements quickly. A lack of economic development, especially in terms of infrastructure, needs to be addressed. Although development is not the only prerequisite of democracy, the link between the two is one of the strongest statistical relationships in the study of democratization, and there is little doubt that the growth and strengthening of Albania's economy will help to strengthen its democratic institutions.
I think we would all agree that the growth and development of civil society is essential to the functioning of a modern and mature democracy. In Albania, civil society, which was practically non-existent during the communist period, has grown tremendously in recent years. Organizations all over the country are working to involve citizens in participatory decision-making and governance on the local level. There are also organizations that offer services to marginalized groups, such as trafficked women and girls, street children, and disabled as well as those which focus on foreign affairs, promoting the rights of women and so on. A coalition of local organizations played a very important role in getting out to vote in the last parliamentary elections and even mobilizing hundreds of local monitors.
The involvement of civil society in the lobbying and drafting stages of policy development has shown some encouraging steps in recent years. For instance, a group of Albanian NGOs has worked together effectively with the government in drafting the National Anti-trafficking Strategy. Others have put pressure to government and parliament for better environmental policies and legislation. The Albania Anti-Corruption Coalition worked for nearly 12 months to help draft and introduce legislation for the declaration of financial assets for over 2500 senior governmental officials.
There are many talented young leaders in this sector and I expect that in the coming years a lot more will be done in terms of strengthening the capacities of this sector, in fostering trust between civil society organizations and their partners in government and the private sector, and in the creation of space for the participation of citizens in the policy-making process.
The new government will face many challenges in finding the common ground with the political opposition that is necessary for needed reforms. Reforms involve trade-offs and the government will have to prioritize. Reform is never painless and so will be the challenging task of educating the public on both the costs as well as the benefits of membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions. I believe though that there is a social consensus across Albania on the importance of Albania integrating into the institutions.
The United States is fully helping and is fully committed to helping Albania to meet these challenges. We are and will remain engaged on all of these issues I have just mentioned, and coordinate and cooperate closely with our European colleagues in this regard. The successes we observe in Albania are a result of this cooperation. Moreover, donor coordination working together with the Albanian government should help in the identification of common goals.
Together with our EU colleagues we are providing assistance to help Albania meet the goals I have mentioned. Assistance is aimed at promoting democratic, economic, military and social reforms, enhancing regional stability and law enforcement, and facilitating exchange programs. We also support programs designed to prevent trafficking and aid in the protection and reintegration of trafficked victims.
In closing, since this institute is devoted to the study of the Balkans, let me say a few words about the region. There are many reasons why we can be optimistic about the future of liberal democracy in the Balkans. The Balkan countries are spiritually, historically, and geographically linked to the great centers of western democracy and of prosperity and innovation in the world economy. They only have to look so far as Vienna or Rome or Athens to see the benefits that democracy and a market economy can bring. Most importantly, the people of the Balkans see themselves as firmly belonging to the Western sphere of civilization and agree with its core values of democracy, individual freedom, and human rights. Thus, it is our hope that our vision of a Europe whole, free and at peace will ultimately encompass the integration into our transatlantic community of the countries of the Balkans.
The continuing engagement of Brussels and Washington together and the security and prosperity that membership in Western structures will bring also bodes well for the region. The promise of EU and NATO enlargement, in fact, is our single most important policy instrument to ensure a stable, prosperous, and democratic Balkan region. It was, after all, positive European and American support that helped to secure stability, prosperity, democracy, and membership in Euro-Atlantic structures for the countries of Central Europe and the Baltic states. For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, all of the Balkan states are looking for NATO and EU integration process, and all have declared their commitment to democratic governance and market economy. The United States is committed to helping Albania and its neighbors meet these goals at this critical juncture in their histories.
Thank you.