The European Union and the EU member states yesterday released a joint statement in which they explicitly declare that “credible and tangible progress on all five key priorities, the implementation of the Justice Reform, and in particular the vetting, are essential for the opening of accession negotiations with Albania.”
EU Member States Embassies and the EU Delegation in Tirana call on all relevant authorities to adhere to their full commitment to the implementation of the Justice Reform, which was unanimously voted in the Albanian Parliament almost a year ago. Vetting of judges and prosecutors, as envisaged in the legislation that has already been reviewed both by the Venice Commission and the Constitutional Court of Albania, needs to start. The EU recalls that credible and tangible progress on all five key priorities, the implementation of the Justice Reform, and in particular the vetting, are essential for the opening of accession negotiations with Albania.
This statement follows remarks by EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn in which he stressed another component of the “five key priorities,” the fight against drug trafficking and cultivation.
The EU statement is also markedly different from the position taken by EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin last year, when she downplayed the conditionality of the five key priorities.
The US statement put greater emphasis on the judicial reform, and the installation of the National Bureau of Investigation, modeled on the American FBI. The statement comes at the moment that the two parliamentary ad-hoc committees for the selection of the vetting institution members are expected to present their final candidate list next week, which will then have to be voted in Parliament.
The U.S. Embassy supports the statements of the leaders of the three largest political parties in support of judicial reform. They are correct that judicial reform will move forward, but the Albanian people should be concerned about attempts to weaken the reform to protect corrupt judges and prosecutors, including those with ties to organized crime. Vetting must be strong and meaningful because key anti-corruption components of the reform, including the SPAK and the NBI, are dependent upon having honest judges and prosecutors.
We urge the Constitutional Court to review complaints in an open and transparent manner, while relying on Venice Commission recommendations. We applaud the Albanian people, civil society, and independent media who continue to stand watch so corrupt people do not steal their democracy.
The National Union and Society of Judges has made filed another case at the Constitutional Court to invalidate key articles of several laws related to the judicial reform, claiming that they are unconstitutional. They object against, among others, having their possible relations with criminal organizations and figures investigated as far back as 2012 and being prohibited from quitting their positions later than 3 months into their evaluation.
The Constitutional Court accepted the case, but it is unclear when it will pass judgment. The previous case filed by the judges against elements of the judicial reform was partially accepted in April.
