THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, NOVEMBER 3-10, 2007

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SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, NOVEMBER 3-10, 2007


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1. (U) The following is a weekly report prepared by Embassy
Tirana's local staff to provide political and economic context and
insight into developments in Albania. These updates will supplement
post's DAR reports and reporting cables.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
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2. (U) Keep the Pedal to the Metal: Amid growing expectations for
a 2008 invitation to NATO membership, USNATO Ambassador Victoria
Nuland spearheaded a U.S. interagency delegation to assess Albania's
progress. Following meetings with President Topi, Prime Minister
Berisha and other senior officials, Ambassador Nuland in a press
conference praised the country's contributions to regional stability
but called for greater progress on judicial and electoral reform.
"Our message today was that Albania has made a huge amount of
progress but as we head towards the Bucharest summit, now is the
time to keep the foot on the reform gas pedal and keep rolling,"
Nuland said. NATO integration remains the GOA's top priority, with
overwhelming support from Albanian citizens. As the country's hopes
to enter the EU remain distant, the GOA is making every effort to
prepare a strong case ahead of the Bucharest Summit in April of next
year.


3. (U) Deepening the Ties that Bind: Albanian leaders have forged
deeper ties with Canada through two recent visits, marking a new
chapter in bilateral relations. During PM Berisha's visit last week
to attend the General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association,
Canadian PM Stephen Harper singled out Albania's strong
contributions to NATO, particularly in Afghanistan, and emphasized
that Canada puts Albania at the top of the list of NATO aspirants.


4. (U) This visit follows on the heels of Speaker Jozefina Topalli,
who highlighted Albania's progress on NATO reforms and regional
contribution toward solutions for Kosovo, part of the GOA's broader
effort to convince NATO members to vote "yes" in Bucharest next
year.


5. (U) The PG's Fate in Topi's Hands: President Bamir Topi
received official word this week that Parliament recommends the
dismissal of Prosecutor General (PG) Sollaku. Approval from the
President would conclude a two-year effort by the government to
remove Sollaku. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court agreed to hear
Sollaku's case to invalidate Parliament's recommendation on November

26. Action on these developments will be taken amid a growing
consensus from all political sides that a solution must be found to
end the current impasse between the office of the PG and the
government.

"Whatever must happen ultimately should happen immediately." --
Henry A. Kissinger


6. (U) Corruption Arrests Continue: Ongoing discussions over the
fate of the PG have not disrupted cooperation between law
enforcement agencies to combat corruption. On November 8,
authorities arrested the General Secretary of the Ministry of Labor,
Spartak Gjini, and two colleagues on charges of corruption through
tender procedures. The officials were arrested following a three
month investigation by the new Joint Investigative Unit. It is the
second high profile arrest of government officials in recent weeks.



7. (U) Miles to Go Before We Sleep: On November 6, the European
Commission released its annual strategy on EU enlargement, including
a summary of Albania's progress toward EU integration. The report
highlights recent success in solidifying the market economy and
aligning legislation with EU standards and policies. It calls for
further progress to strengthen the rule of law, particularly
constructive dialogue between the parties to implement electoral and
judicial reforms, and improved operation of public administration.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said: "Albania has made some
progress in recent months in the fight against corruption and
operation of public administration, but it is clear that more
remains to be done before we move to the next stage of membership
into the EU."

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
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8. (U) Diversifying the Mobile Market: The GOA announced it will
launch a fourth mobile phone license to increase competition in this
fast-growing market. With a lack of fixed line capacity, mobile
usage has increased from 15,0 sr n20 tto 1.9 million in
2007, u lbana utmr ay some of the highest rate nte
region. Two operators, AMC (a subsidiary of the Cosmote Group) and
Vodaphone, currently share the lucrative market of $450 million
annual revenue. A third company, Eagle, will join them in early

2008.

ARTS AND CULTURE
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9. (U) Tirana Fashion Week: Tirana's first Fashion Week kicked off
Thursday, October 25, showcasing designers from Albania, Kosovo,
Macedonia and Greece in two weeks of events. Sixty Albanian models
wore the latest European and Balkan fashions as well as clothes
inspired by folk culture and national dress, accompanied by folk
music. (See http://blog.nj.com/fashiontoday
/2007/10/fashion_week_tirana.html for photos.) The event was
organized by Joni Peci, a young Albanian recently returned from
abroad to help build a better Albania.

PERSON OF THE WEEK
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10. (U) Inva Mula: Albania's most renowned opera singer is perhaps
best known to American audiences as the soprano voice behind the
Diva in the film "The Fifth Element." She began her opera career at
an early age, studying classical music at the Academy of Arts in
Tirana. The fall of communism gave her an international audience,
and she was the winner of the first Placido Domingo Operalia
Competition in 1993. Graced with a flexible voice and extensive
range, her career took off in duets with Domingo performed at the
world's most distinguished halls. Creative expression runs in
Mula's family, as her Albanian father is an accomplished opera
singer and her mother a Russian-born artist. She was born in Tirana
in 1963.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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11. (U) "We have constantly emphasized that prolongation of the
process holds the real risk of losing trust in the process as a
whole and would place the Kosovo political class and the future
security of Kosovo and the region to a useless and risky test."
Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha

WITHERS