Various Albanian media has been publishing information relating to a GRECO report on corruption, money laundering and financial crime in the country. The media states that Albania’s fight against corruption is “sophisticated” and “powerful”.
Exit News contacted GRECO who confirmed that the report is not public and has not been published yet. They did however note there was positive progress.
“What I can tell you now is that GRECO adopted the Addendum to the 2nd Fourth Round Compliance Report on Albania (GrecoRC4(2020)5) and noted with satisfaction that this terminated the compliance procedure in respect of Albania in this round.”
Albanian media is claiming that the report says the country is ready to open the accession process for EU Membership
It adds:
“According to the report, during these four years that the Ministry of Justice has been appointed as the National Coordinator for corruption issues, this report undoubtedly marks Albania’s highest achievement in fulfilling the recommendations, not only at the national level, but also in the region, after it managed to fulfill 9 out of 10 recommendations.”
In November 2019, Exit interviewed the Director of Greco, Gianluca Esposito who said that there can be no real or effective fight against corruption in Albania without an effective judiciary. He also said that laws are not enough on their own and that implementation and an end to impunity is key
“The government is going in the right direction but most importantly – and I am insisting on this – reforms are only any good if they are effectively and properly implemented,” he said.
“It is not enough to create a new institution or body to fight corruption or crime; they actually have to deliver on the tasks they are supposed to carry out,” he added.
