By Philip T. Reeker
This is a transcript of the testimony of Deputy Assistant Secretary for European andEurasian Affairs Philip T. Reeker before theCommission on Security & Cooperation in Europe:U.S. Helsinki Commissionon May 6, 2013.
Thank you very much for the invitation to speak before the Helsinki Commission. We in the State Department have an extremely good rapport with the Commission. We value the work that you do, and I must say personally, from my experience and work in the Balkans – particularly over the past year and a half in this position, I think the Commission has played a significant role in fostering stability and democracy throughout the region for more than two decades now, and I appreciate very much your continued interest in the region. With all the other things that are going on in the world, it’s important that we remember this is an area where the United States has contributed significant resources and continues to be extremely engaged. So I welcome the opportunity to discuss the pace of democratic progress in Albania.
I want to begin the testimony today with an overview of our policy toward Albania, review the pace of Albania’s democratic progress, and finally, identify some of the challenges that we believe still remain. The United States and Albania share a strong, vibrant and enduring relationship – a friendship, as you’ve described it. The United States has long supported Albania’s independence and its democracy. I am recalling that Albania first became independent from the then Ottoman Empire on November 8th, 1912.
After the First World War, our president, President Woodrow Wilson, defended Albania’s statehood. And during the dark days after the second world war of the communist era, the Voice of America, whose Albanian service celebrates its 70thanniversary at an event tomorrow, brought news and inspiration to a very, very isolated nation.
After the fall of the harsh communist regime in 1991, the United States, under President George H.W. Bush, quickly re-established relations with Albania. We took back the embassy building that we had had there prior to the war. Later, President Clinton established an enterprise fund to bring U.S. investment to Albania, supported Albania’s democratic elections and worked with Albania and our NATO allies to protect Kosovo and to restore stability to the region. We do remember how Albania took in tens of thousands – hundreds of thousands of refugees from Kosovo and during those dark days in 1998, ’99.
President George W. Bush became the first sitting American president to visit Albania, and President Obama welcomed Albania, along with Croatia, as our newest NATO allies in 2009. And Secretary Clinton helped Albania celebrate the 100thanniversary of independence just last fall at the end of October of 2012 when she visited Albania as part of a Balkans tour.
Internationally, I think it’s important to note that from an era of extreme isolation, Albania has actually been a responsible and steadfast actor, committing troops and resources in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Kosovo and in Iraq. As a NATO member, Albania has supported robustly NATO-led operations, most prominently in Afghanistan, where over 200 Albanians serve proudly right now alongside U.S. and other allied troops.
So the United States deeply values Albania’s many contributions to our mutual goals. The United States is partnering with Albania and with our European friends as Albania works to achieve its European Union aspirations, which is, of course, one of our core policy goals in the Western Balkans and toward Albania specifically. Like the bipartisan nature of this commission, this policy has been a clear policy of both Democratic and Republican administrations for over 20 years. Now, since 1991, Albania has made significant progress in its democratic development, and the United States has partnered with and supported Albania’s efforts to shore up its democratic institutions, improve rule of law and increase living standards for all the people of Albania and to maintain friendly and mutually productive relations with its neighbors.
The United States has also supported efforts to develop trade and investment opportunities in Albania. As you mentioned, Congressman, there are great opportunities, we believe, there. And we’ve cooperated on regional law enforcement, regional economic and regional environmental issues.
Albania’s membership in NATO is enormously important for consolidating peace and security in Albania itself and in the broader region. But in the 21stcentury and beyond, I think it’s important to remember that economic statecraft is of increasing importance. The prospect of integration with the European Union provides Albania with strong incentives for continued Democratic, economic and social reform, and it represents the best prospect for Albania’s long-term economic and democratic stability. Albania, like other countries aspiring to join the EU, knows that EU integration is its best chance to secure prosperity for its people. Croatia, as an example, a strong supporter and friend of Albania as well, will be the next country from the region to join the European Union on July 1stthis year.
Now, as Albania looks to its European future, we and our European partners are hopeful that Albania will take the necessary steps to solidify its democratic credentials and give it the best opportunity to gain EU candidate status as soon as possible. Then-Secretary Clinton reiterated this in her historic address to the Albanian parliament last fall in Toronto. Secretary Clinton said, and I quote, “Albania and the Albanian people deserve a place in the European family of nations. That is not only good for you, it will make this continent more peaceful and secure.”
Today, Albania’s political leaders from all political parties – and there are many of them – and indeed, all of Albania’s people have some hard decisions to make about their future. Despite some progress on the EU reform agenda, the European Commission did not recommend candidate status in 2012. The European Commission’s progress noted that while Albania had made great strides towards fulfilling the so-called Copenhagen political criteria for membership, Albania needed further to intensify efforts to reform the judiciary, to strengthen the independence of judicial institutions, efficiency and accountability. The commission also noted that Albania needed to demonstrate a track record of reforms in the fight against organized crime and corruption and in its protection of the rights of minority communities.
Further, the European Commission report highlighted the need for Albania’s parliamentarians to pass remaining reform legislation in the areas of public administration, judicial reform and parliamentary rules and procedures. Finally, as you noted, Congressman, elections remain an area of concern in Albania’s democratic progress. The European Commission report stated that the successful conduct of parliamentary elections in 2013 to be held on June 23rdwill be a crucial test of the country’s democratic institution and Albania’s readiness for EU candidacy status. We, the United States, the State Department very much share the commission’s concerns.
The 2009 OSCE/ODIHR and Parliamentary Assembly election observation mission noted that while the election then met most OSCE commitments, it did not attain the highest standards for democratic elections. This has been a challenge for Albania.
The mission then cited procedural violations, administrative problems with the vote count, biased media coverage and a highly toxic political environment. The conduct of the May 2011 nationwide elections for mayors and city councils fared mildly better according to OSCE/ODIHR’s observation mission final report, but the highly polarized political environment was cited as problematic, as was the central election commission’s decision to intervene in Tirana’s mayoral contest.
This decision undermined the independence of the institution, the CEC, and undermined confidence in the election results. This is behind us, but we must keep it in mind as we look toward the upcoming parliamentary elections. What are the lessons learned? The United States has been clear that to meet international standards, the independence of Albania’s institutions must be respected. The political discourse must remain constructive and civil, and the Albanian people must have confidence in both the process and the results of the elections. American personnel will join our colleagues from OSCE’s ODHIR and work with their Parliamentary Assembly counterparts to ensure that the international community watches the conduct of the elections very carefully.
We understand that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy its own mission, and we welcome that.
The United States has worked for many years to engage with civil society in Albania, and these efforts continue through the U.S. embassy’s programs under current ambassador Alex Arvizu. Through voter outreach and education programs, we are encouraging open discussions on important issues that matter to Albanian citizens beyond mere personal politics.
We’re supporting active participation in the electoral process and observational reporting on the electoral process itself. Yet due in part to linger effects of the harsh communist regime, civic participation remains the weakest aspect in the electoral process. Parties must more seriously engage civil society and reflect their recommendations into their party platforms. In the United States, politicians pay attention to public opinion because citizens make their opinions known through their votes. And let me just take this moment to say hello to Congressman Engel, also a good friend of Albania and these issues, with whom we’ve spoken many times on these issues.
The United States is particularly concerned with the independence of the central election commission. The CEC has the primary responsibility to administer elections in a free and impartial fashion in accordance with Albania’s electoral code and the rule of law. To do so, the CEC must be free from interference by any individual, any political party, any institution, including the parliament. With respect to the composition of the CEC, the members of the CEC who were selected and appointed on the basis of interparty consensus and in accordance with the electoral code should be apolitical.
Once appointed, CEC members have pledged and are obligated to discharge impartially their duties to realize free, fair and democratic elections in Albania. The United States has stressed the need for all parties to strengthen lost trust in the main institution responsible for the conduct of elections in Albania. This includes adhering to a timeline established by the electoral code and conducting the elections on June 23rd- I believe that’s just about 45 days from now.
To do this, Albania’s political party leaders must work together, they must compromise – a word not always found in dictionaries in the Balkans – and find a solution that allows the CEC to carry out its mandate to administer elections. We have confidence that the leaders can do this. Leaders of all major political parties have expressed their desire for elections to take place on June 23rd. However, the CEC does not currently have enough members to administer elections effectively. It’s a question of credibility, and we would like to see the CEC as fully constituted as possible, and we urge Albania’s leaders not to waste time. The United States, together with our European partners, have stressed that democracy is not just who wins and who loses a single election. The democratic process matters too.
It matters how the political parties run their campaign. It matters how the CEC interprets Albania’s electoral code, conducts the elections and manages disputes, how the votes are tabulated, how disputes are resolved and how the public and the political parties respond to the final tally. The conduct of these elections on June 23rdwill be an important indicator of Albania’s democratic maturity, and it will send a clear signal whether Albania is ready for European Union candidacy status. It will also have an impact on our bilateral relationship with Albania.
In spite of our concerns, let me say in closing that the United States remains committed to Albania’s future. We remain committed to our friends, the people of Albania – all the people of Albania, and we extend the hand of support. Beyond elections, we will remain engaged on the long-term goals I cited earlier: to help Albania build and refine democratic institutions, respect the rule of law, fight crime and corruption and develop a market economy to bring prosperity to the Albanian people.
Let me close there. Thank you again for granting me this opportunity to speak before the Helsinki Commission. Thank you very much for the work that you do, and I look forward to your questions. Thank you.
