Newsroom
OSCE Presence in Albania regrets lack of consensus on property law
TIRANA 30 July 2004
TIRANA, 30 July 2004 - The OSCE Presence in Albania acknowledges Thursday's vote in the Albanian Assembly, which amended the Law on the Restitution and Compensation of Property, but regrets that the Democratic Party and other opposition parties walked out of the Assembly before the vote.
The Head of the OSCE Presence, Ambassador Osmo Lipponen, praised the efforts undertaken over the past weeks to regain consensus on this law.
"President Alfred Moisiu's act of turning back the law following his rounds of careful consultation was a strong signal to the parties that consensus needed to be found on this important piece of legislation," he said. "It offered them another opportunity to resolve the outstanding issues. Unfortunately, it was not fully taken advantage of."
"The parties showed a certain willingness to make some amendments to the law in line with the President's decree and were moving towards a compromise at the committee level. Unfortunately, this did not result in a full compromise," he added. "Yesterday's walk-out underlined the failure of both the opposition and the majority."
The OSCE Presence in Albania nonetheless looks forward to the implementation of the law and recalls its commitment to continue providing further technical assistance and other support.
The Head of the OSCE Presence, Ambassador Osmo Lipponen, praised the efforts undertaken over the past weeks to regain consensus on this law.
"President Alfred Moisiu's act of turning back the law following his rounds of careful consultation was a strong signal to the parties that consensus needed to be found on this important piece of legislation," he said. "It offered them another opportunity to resolve the outstanding issues. Unfortunately, it was not fully taken advantage of."
"The parties showed a certain willingness to make some amendments to the law in line with the President's decree and were moving towards a compromise at the committee level. Unfortunately, this did not result in a full compromise," he added. "Yesterday's walk-out underlined the failure of both the opposition and the majority."
The OSCE Presence in Albania nonetheless looks forward to the implementation of the law and recalls its commitment to continue providing further technical assistance and other support.