Editorial: The fight for Europe south of the border
Story Highlights
- A proper solution for the Greek crisis is good for Albania – because it is good for Europe
Related Articles
Protesters gather in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens in 2011. (Photo: Archives/Public Domain)
It has been a dramatic week for the European project as negotiations between Athens and a group of international officials failed and Greece became the first developed country to ever go into IMF arrears.
When the eyes of the world are on Greece as a hot spot, obviously neighboring countries also feel the heat. But for this region, the crisis has gone on so long, this latest escalation was neither unexpected nor a cause for panic.
Furthermore, officials in Albania have been very active this week to reassure the country’s residents that there is nothing to fear, particularly for those 17 percent of deposits in Albania that are held in Greek-owned banks. Albania had preceded many countries in the region in changing its financial laws to force these banks to become local companies and prevent them from transferring capital from local depositors to parent banks in Greece. So even in the worst-case scenario of Greek banks going bankrupt, their Albanian subsidiaries can go on independently, according to the experts.
Albanians appear to have heeded the advice of the experts so far. No massive withdrawals or transfers are taking place as far as we can tell.
In fact, over the past few months, Albanian banks have benefited from an increase in deposits coming from Greece, as many Albanian migrants have chosen to move their savings to Albania, where they feel the money is safer, according to the central bank. And this new capital inside Albania can only help the Albanian economy in the medium and long-term.
Financial and economic elements aside, the escalation of the crisis in Greece is bad for Albania not simply because it is happening in a neighboring country and the economic negative effects will clearly be felt even more in the medium-term — but also because it is bad for the European project.
In a sense, the prolonged economic crisis, of which Greece is only the most accentuated example, has already shifted European attention away from more European integration for countries that are already members of the bloc – and those that are knocking on the door, are likely to have it even tougher.
Albania and the other neighbors still left in the EU’s non-member Western Balkan enclave face years of waiting that will likely be made harder by the process of self-discovery the European Union will itself embark on after the final outcome of the Greek crisis.
Yet, there is also a chance that we get more Europe rather than less Europe when the lights of the Greek drama stage go out.
The scheduled visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Western Balkans next week, a regional tour that will start in Tirana, is clearly aimed at reassuring the Western Balkan countries of their European prospects – and that they are not being forgotten by the EU.
With attention in other crises, these countries have the potential to rapidly make steps backward into their unstable and violent pasts as recent events in Kumanovo show. Furthermore, to a degree, the region is being pulled into different directions as the ring of fire surrounds Europe – from Ukraine to the Middle East.
But one thing is clear: For the Western Balkans, a strong European Union and a clear European path is still the best solution.
As a result, in addition to not working seriously enough to meet EU standards, the biggest threat Albania now faces in its EU bid is that the European dream will wither away inside the EU before the country is ready.
That’s why a proper solution for the Greek crisis is good for Albania – because it is ultimately good for Europe as a whole.
