Akhir 25, 1432 H/March 30, 2011, SPA -- The European Commission will not be able to deliver a positive progress report on Albania's EU membership bid if the Balkan country does not resolve its political stalemate, dpa quoted EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule as warning Wednesday. "Not only would Albania not move forward on the EU path along with other Western Balkan countries but may fall behind its fellow EU aspirant neighbours," Fule said after a two-day seminar with Albanian authorities in Tirana. "There needs to be decisive action taken in the short term to relieve the political deadlock," he said. Prime Minister Sali Berisha's conservative Democratic Party and the opposition Socialists have been feuding since June 2009 parliamentary elections, which the Socialists say were manipulated to ensure Berisha's razor-thin victory. Tensions rose further in January, when a Socialist rally turned into an assault on Berisha's office. Police reacted by killing three protestors. Dozens were injured. "The political stalemate ... is holding back important reforms needed for progress towards the EU," Fule said. In November, the European Commission had already refrained from recommending Albania be given full EU candidate status because of the political feuding. Fule noted, however, that the European Commission "remains committed to the European perspective of Albania."
