Sweden took over the chairmanship of the OSCE on January 1, ending Albania’s one-year mandate.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde thanked Prime Minister Rama for a year of hard work:
“Thank you, Edi Rama and the Albanian mission in Vienna for a really inspiring chairmanship of the OSCE. Despite the challenging circumstances, you managed to find the modalities of the meeting, make important decisions and show a new executive leadership.”
During the ceremony on December 4th, Rama listed his achievements as the head of the OSCE, at the end of the OSCE presidency.
These included negotiating the budget for the special monitoring mission in Ukraine, and offering mediation help in Belarus but being ignored.
During the meeting of the 27th OSCE Ministerial Council, Rama mentioned the problems he encountered during his presidency such as the pandemic. The Prime Minister also mentioned the internal problems of the organization as a challenge.
Despite all the crises, Rama said that Albania showed ambition at the helm of the OSCE.
Meanwhile, in Albania, 2020 was a year that saw backsliding in media freedom, transparency, rule of law, corruption, and democracy. At least six journalists were arrested, some were assaulted, and the government tried to pass a law that would bring the media under state supervision. It was also the year the National Theatre was demolished following a legally questionable process and two years of protests.
