Details of document for Albania

The impartial election of the President only with the majority’s votes is seen as the element that stopped the cooperation between parties. The document also underlines the problems in the areas of the judiciary, the administration, the fight against corruption and economy.

The progress-report asks that the procedures to shed light on the January 21st events should be fulfilled through a trusted judicial process.

“Albania has made good progress for the fulfilment of the political criteria for the EU membership, by handing over a series of the key measures that had to be taken according to the Commission’s Opinion of 2010. A good progress was reached in the key political reforms”.

Implementation: “In all the areas covered by the key priorities not fully met significant additional efforts will be needed to ensure sustainable implementation of commitments already undertaken and further tangible results, notably in the context of implementation.  In order to keep the current reform momentum and consolidate its achievements to date, Albania would need in particular to focus on consensually adopting the revised rules of procedure for Parliament and the achievements to the Laws on the High Court and on Civil Service. Ensuing sustainability of the political dialogue is essential for the functioning of democratic institutions and for Albania’s EU path. As regards democracy and the rule of law, improved political dialogue in Parliament and a more constructive atmosphere

Politics: “As regards democracy and rule of law, the improved political dialogue in Parliament and the more constructive climate in commissions and plenary sessions enabled a good progress in a number of areas, despite some short periods of a confronting political rhetoric and a temporary slowdown of the reforms”.

President: “On June 11th, 2012, a new president was elected in the fourth round of the elections with the votes of the ruling majority only. Although in line with the Constitution, the presidential election did not meet all expectations for inclusiveness and put a strain on the consolidation of political dialogue and cooperation. This contributed to a temporary slowdown in reform efforts in core areas requiring political consensus, which was overcome shortly after.

Local government: “As regards local government, the decentralization of the state responsibilities has not been matched by appropriate transfers in administrative and financial resources from central to local level. The existence of two separate local government associations is not conducive to improving the institutional relations between the central and local government in view of successful and transparent decentralisation process”.

Administration: “There has been progress in the administration reform, a key priority of the Opinion, more through the adoption of the Laws on Administrative Court and the Organization and Functioning of Public Administration, and through the election of the Ombudsman. Now it is essential to approve the Civil Service law amend. The implementation of the administrative acts and approved laws must be reinforced. The legal and institutional legal framework for the public administration is still affected by irregularities that need to be addressed to, with the goal to reinforce the professionalism, depolitization, meritocracy, transparency and accountability.”

Judiciary: “As regards the judiciary, moderate progress has been made in completing judicial reform which is a key priority of the Opinion. The judicial reform strategy and the relevant action plan of March 2012 started to be implemented. The law on the Administrative Courts and the Law on the National Judicial Conference have been adopted. The new private bailiff system is operational. However, important legislation to strengthen the accountability, the independence and the efficiency of the judiciary still awaits finalisation, adoption and implementation. In this respect, it is now essential that the amends to the Law on the High Court are adopted. Court organisation, transparency and case backlogs, as well as the status of the judiciary administration continue to raise concern for the efficiency of the judiciary, as does the budget allocation. The proceedings to shed light on the events

January 21st: The proceedings to shed lights on the events of the 21 January 2011 need to be adopted through a credible judicial process.

Anti-corruption: “Moderate progress was made in the field of anti-corruption policy, which is a key priority of the Opinion, notably through the limitation of constitutional immunity of high-level public officials and judges. Some efforts were made to improve inter-institutional cooperation, exchange of information and the prosecution of generally low and medium-level cases. However, the absence of a proactive approach and lack of resources and equipments continue to obstruct effective investigations. There is no adequate track record of investigations, prosecutions and sentencing in all levels. Corruption prevails in many areas and keeps being a serious problem”.

Regional Cooperation: “Regarding regional issues and international obligations, Albania continued to play a constructive role in contributing to the stability of the region by consolidating positive relations with neighbours and regional partners. The country has cooperated fully with Eulex and in May 2012, Parliament adopted a special law allowing EULEX investigators to carry out inquiries on Albanian territory. In the framework of its MARRI (Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative”, presidency, an agreement entered into force between Albania, Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to ease border crossing procedures between the countries. Nationals of these countries are now able to travel between them with biometric identity cards for a period of up to two months.

Economy: The Albanian economy continued to grow, albeit a slower pace and despite the persistent unfavourable economic conditions in its main trading partners. Monetary policy has successfully helped to keep the inflation stable and anchor inflationary expectations. Labour market performance slightly improved. State involvement in the economy and the level of subsidies has remained limited. The banking sector is well-capitalised and liquid. Some progress was made to further facilitate market entry.

The membership: “Albania has made moderate progress in improving its ability to take on the membership, in particular in the areas of competition, taxation, statistics, justice, freedom and security, education and culture and the Customs Union. The progress has been limited in the other areas, such as freedom of movement for workers, public procurement, copyrights, food security, fishing, energy, and environment and climate changes.”

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