Drugs probe of ex-minister rattles EU hopeful Albania

TIRANA: An investigation into a former Albanian interior minister and his alleged links to international cannabis trafficking is ill-timed for the Balkan country bidding to join the European Union. A candidate for membership in the bloc since 2014, Albania intends to convince Brussels to open accession negotiations early next year. But the scandal involving Saimir Tahiri, 38, interior minister until March and a close ally of socialist PrimeMinister Edi Rama, has forced the country to defend its history with drug trafficking. “Albania has a problem with the connection between criminal groups and politicians,” US ambassador to Albania Donald Lu said earlier this month. “This is a problem not of one party,” he said. The ambassador´s outspokenness contrasts with the cautious silence of European embassies which have been supporting Rama since he took over in 2013.—AFP