Official: EC penalizes Albania

EU evaluates that there is insufficient progress for the political criteria of Copenhagen. The political stalemate that was created after the elections of 2009, the result of which was opposed by the Socialist Party, has dominated the interior political scene of this year. The mistrust among parties grew after the January 21st events and the local elections.

The violent incidents of January 21st, which caused the death of 4 protesters, amplified the mistrust environment not only among the political forces, but also for the state institutions. The May 8th local elections, as result of the contradictions for the count of miscast ballots and the contested result for the Municipality of Tirana intensified the polarization among the majority and the opposition”, the report says.

Although the local elections are considered competitive and transparent by OSCE-ODIHR, they showed a lack of trust between the political parties and affected the electoral administration. Violent incidents were also noted during the electoral campaign, according to the progress report, and despite the improvements in the voters’ list, the problems regarding their accuracy are still unsolved.

The European Parliament recognizes a modest progress in the organization of the Parliamentary procedures and the preparation of an agenda, but the key priority of the opinion for a proper functionality of the Parliament, based on constructive and stable dialogue between political parties, has not been fulfilled. Corruption continues to prevail in Albania and remains a serious concern, according to the commission, while the freedom of speech in the media has also insufficient progress.

 Prepared by: Arta Tozaj

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