In a letter to its prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, the President of the European Popular Parties (EPP), Manfred Weber, condemned the incident of verbal and physical attack against the European parliament member of Greece, Fredi Beleri – ex-mayor-elect of Himara - which took place on October 29 in Tirana during an official mission of the EU-Albania Interparliamentary Committee for Stabilization and Cooperation.
Weber, in his letter, underlines that "the MEP, Mr. Fredi Beleri, with the diplomatic status of a member of this mission of the Delegation of the European Parliament, was verbally and physically attacked by a protester on his way out of the Albanian Parliament".
In the same letter he points out that "no measures were taken to prevent this shameful attack against a MEP in the middle of his official mission. During the incident, there was a notable absence of any form of state protection. If there had been any state protection and adequate security measures had been provided by the Albanian state, this unacceptable incident could have been prevented."
The president of the EPP notes that "the verbal and physical attack against Mr. Beleri in front of the Albanian Parliament constitutes a failure of the host state to guarantee the safety and integrity of an elected representative of the citizens of the European Union during an official mission, defying the relevant guiding international provisions on diplomatic relations'.
"Considering the seriousness of this incident, which I strongly condemn, I call on you to ensure that similar incidents do not occur in the future, honoring your international commitments, in compliance with Albania's accession path," Manfred Weber's letter concludes.