Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs

The show that was orchestrated as an aggressive provocation in Bularat, which turned a funeral ceremony into a threatening demonstration against the constitutional, security and public order of the Republic of Albania, with extremist calls, incitement of hatred and calls for disruptive actions among the Albanian citizens with Albanian and Greek ethnicity, is unacceptable for the Albanian government and society. Albanian society is a society of democratic cohabitation where minorities are protected by laws of the highest European standards and where the Greek minority is considered an irreplaceable treasure and bridge of good neighborly relation with our friend country Greece.

In defending the constitutional and public order, the national security and the indisputable territorial integrity of the Republic of Albania, our authorities have based their actions on entirely legal mechanisms to address this problematic situation.

In cooperation with other state authorities and after a thorough evaluation by the specialized institutions, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs proposed to the Ministry of Interior Affairs to declare the Cypriote MEP Eleni Theocharous persona non grata.

The Ministry of Interior Affairs, in reference to her political and diplomatic status and her engagement in the European Parliament, after the evaluation of the proposal of the MEFA, based on the materials provided by the competent authorities, decided to approve the request of MEFA.

This decision stems from the legal and constitutional obligation of the institutions of the Republic of Albania to respond to the repeated extremist demonstrations of the MEP Eleni Theocharous. Her public declarations, which incite hatred, encroach the constitutional order of our country and her territorial claims towards the Republic of Albania could not and will not take place anymore in the Albanian territory.

Based on diplomatic and consular procedures, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs will transmit through diplomatic channels the decision to prohibit the entrance in the territory of the Republic of Albania of Eleni Theocharous.

The Government of the Republic of Albania remains committed to contribute to the stability of the region, to cooperate closely with all its neighbors and international partners, but it is at the same time determined not to tolerate for any reason demonstrations that threaten the constitutional order, calls against the territorial integrity of the country and acts that undermine the social harmony among the citizens of the Republic of Albania.

Greece and its people represent a valuable asset in the wealth of traditional friendships that Albania and Albanian people cherish.

Extremist elements or groups, which in Greek or Albanian, speak a common language of division and hatred that has no connection whatsoever with the European language that unites our peoples and countries, will never be able to obstruct our common path of peace and strategic cooperation towards the future that the children of Albania and Greece deserve.