Turkey extends its influence in the Balkans

Turkey and Albania signed a new agreement on Wednesday to raise their bilateral relations to the status of a strategic partnership. The agreement was announced during a joint press conference between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, in which they underlined their historical ties.

Through this agreement, Turkey manages to consolidate its position on this new front in the Balkans, after having done so in the Arab region, the Caucasus and the Eastern Mediterranean. Both countries will work through a high-level strategic co-operation council, the two leaders stated at the press conference during Edi Rama's visit to Turkey. This is not the first agreement of this kind, as Turkey also maintains relations at this level with Serbia in an attempt to gain a presence in a region that the EU does not yet fully control.

As a result of this new agreement, new investments will be made by Turkey in the country in different sectors. Erdogan has announced investment in infrastructures and in the tourism sector, an area which is also gaining weight in Turkey and which it is therefore important to promote. Also, following COVID-19, Erdogan has indicated that a new hospital will be built in Albania within three months.

Other sectors in which relations between Tirana and Ankara will be strengthened are education and religious affairs, as the two leaders have signed a protocol whereby Turkey will be responsible for restoring the historic Ottoman Qureshunlu mosque in the city of Ishkudara. It should be pointed out that Turkey was a major donor of aid to Albania following the earthquake in 2019, something which Edi Rama indicated as a reason for gratitude, as well as a strong argument for taking this step.

Both countries played a leading role last summer when a new military agreement, the 26th since 1998, was approved by the Albanian Parliament. This military co-operation agreement seeks to expand Turkish military exports in addition to extending the interoperability of both armed forces. The Albanian National Security Programme and military logistics will also be improved.

Turkey has invested over $1 billion in Albania over the past 20 years. The country has a significant presence in the banking, energy and telecommunications sectors, and Turkish influence through the economic sphere is steadily growing in the country, something that Albania is willing to accept.

While this is happening, Albania continues to take steps towards its accession to the European Union, a process in which Serbia is also involved. However, some Member States, such as France, are of the opinion that this process should be slowed down, as the EU is at times in a critical situation with regard to progress on some issues which will be key to the future functioning of the Union. If this progress is not made before any new members join, the EU will have lost a golden opportunity, as it will be more difficult for more partners to reach an agreement.

In view of these doubts on the part of Brussels, Ankara has seen an opportunity to gain influence with this type of agreement and investment which, for these Balkan countries, are essential to progress in their development, particularly in the field of infrastructure. These relations should be monitored in the European capital, as it is obvious that Erdogan shows no appreciation for progressing in his own accession process; quite the contrary.

The US Air Force has established a new base for its MQ-9B Reaper drones in Campia Turzii, Romania, together with a hundred or so troops at the 71st Air Base in that city. They will aim to support NATO's Black Sea operations, with a focus on Russian activity.

It will be the first permanent US presence in the country, although its presence had been recurrent. These troops will be subordinate to the US 31st Combat Wing, which is based in Aviano, northern Italy, where the USAF also has F-16 fighter-bombers deployed.

Spain has also been considering the possibility of contributing to an air police mission in Romania with its Eurofighter aircraft, as is done in the mission it operates in the Baltic, to which Spain has been a regular contributor.