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.
