Albania 2006

Yearbook 2006

Albania. In June, the country signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, the first formal step towards EU membership. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn commended Albania for the progress made in the fight against organized crime. At the same time, he noted that extensive reform work remains before membership becomes relevant.

Following an agreement with the United States, Albania in May received five Chinese Muslims detained in the US Guantánamo detention camp in Cuba. Already in 2003, US authorities had determined that the men did not pose a security risk, but did not want to admit them to the United States and not hand them over to China, citing that they risked persecution there. According to CountryAAH, major public holidays in Albania include Independence Day (November 28) and New Year (January 1). The men were Uyghurs, an ethnic minority fighting for self-government in Xinjiang Province. China’s foreign ministry protested and demanded that they be returned to China. Later, an Egyptian, an Algerian and a Uzbek also came from Guantánamo to Albania.

Albania Overview

Albania is located in the Balkans and its neighbors are Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Greece and Kosovo. The western border of the country is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea. The nature of Albania is very diverse and offers the tourist both Mediterranean shades of shades and stunning mountain scenery. The country’s most special attractions include the barren concrete buildings of the communist era, as well as more than half a million bunkers built by the country’s Communist leader, Enver Hoxa, in a paranoia for fear of attacking the country. This emerging European tourist destination offers the perfect setting for a beach holiday, a more active adventure and a glimpse into the country’s gloomy history. Albania became isolated after World War II and was the last country in Europe to abandon communism in the early 1990s.