Balkan leaders discuss the fate of Southeastern Europe

Thu Mar 28, 2:14 PM ET
By MERITA DHIMGJOKA, Associated Press Writer

TIRANA, Albania - Leaders of several Balkan states gathered Thursday to explore ways to promote democracy and prevent future explosions of ethnic conflict in southeastern Europe. At the regional summit, leaders from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania, Montenegro, Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey agreed to work together more closely to fight organized crime and improve their economies. It was the fifth annual meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process, a group founded to promote political and economic cooperation in the region.

Albania's President Rexhep Meidani, the current chairman of the group, named energy and organized crime as the two biggest threats to the region.

Albania and other countries in the region have been badly hit by an energy shortage this year — the result of a long drought and lack of investment. This winter, many Albanians have not had electricity for up to 12 hours a day.

Greece and Turkey, both members of NATO, pledged to support regional efforts to avoid future conflicts and strengthen political and economic ties.

"Stability and security in Europe as a whole cannot be achieved and sustained if the southeastern part of the continent is dragged into economic and social crisis," said Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. Costas Simitis, the prime minister of Greece — which takes over the presidency of the European Union in January, 2003 — said his country would support efforts for Balkan countries to join the union. "One of the main goals of our presidency will be to encourage, foster and advocate the European integration process of all the countries in Southeastern Europe," Simitis said.

Participants praised recent political achievements in the region, including an agreement between Serbia and Montenegro, which restructures Yugoslavia into a loose union to be renamed "Serbia and Montenegro." The prime minister of Yugoslavia, Dragisha Pesic, said the agreement is "of landmark importance since it has arrested the process of disintegration and initiated a new integration process in the region." Pesic is the highest-ranked Yugoslav official to visit Albania since former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic launched a crackdown in 1998-99 against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.