01/03/2010 President
Strasbourg, 01.03.2010 - Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Mevlüt Çavusoglu today welcomed the return of the opposition to the Albanian parliament last week as an important political sign. “However, I firmly hope that this positive step was not a “one off” and that it will mark the beginning of ongoing participation of all political forces in the work of the parliament .”
“I am all the more pleased about this development as it comes after the recent visit of our PACE Presidential Committee to the country, which aimed at supporting the process of resolving the current political situation and assisting President Topi in his role of mediator and his efforts to restore political dialogue,” the President said.
He encouraged the leaders of both the Socialist and Democratic parties to make further efforts to foster and strengthen political dialogue in the country.
“Parliamentary dialogue is of utmost importance for the democratic functioning of the state’s institutions, and vital for the reforms which need to be addressed without delay,” he said.
He expressed hope that the Albanian delegation to PACE would be completed shortly and that opposition members would actively take part in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly.