TIRANA, July 8 – The European Parliament on Wednesday passed a resolution on Albania, again calling for compromise in the political deadlock and also warning that may have its negative impact on the country’s integration steps ahead.
Europe urges “the urgent need to establish a cross-party consensus on economic, political and social reforms in order to improve the well-being of Albanian citizens and allow the country to make progress towards EU membership.”
Stefa Fuele, EC’s Enlargement Commissioner, fully shared the European Parliament’s view on the political situation in Albania.
“The lack of constructive political dialogue and the lack of a settlement of disagreements following the June 2009 elections between government and opposition are of concern. Both sides need to return to constructive political dialogue and find a solution based on the respect for the Constitution and transparency. OSCE-ODIHR recommendations need to be fully addressed in view of the spring 2011 local elections.”
He added that the on-going political stalemate in Albania was hindering important reform steps, which were also necessary for the country’s progress on the EU integration path.
The EP “strongly urges all political sides to assume their responsibilities and engage in constructive political dialogue, including discussions on a new electoral law ensuring a fully transparent electoral process for future elections; emphasizes that a solution to the stalemate can be found only by complying fully with the Constitution and the principles of transparency.”
Europe deplored the political crisis following the June 2009 parliamentary elections in Albania, and underlined that fully functioning, representative institutions (especially parliament) were the backbone of a consolidated democratic system and, as a key priority for the European Partnership, an important political criterion for EU integration.
European lawmakers also deplored the fact that – in spite of the recent talks facilitated by the EU – a consensus has still not been reached regarding the 2009 elections.
Europe “calls on the government and opposition, if a solution cannot be found without outside help, to agree to mediation, for example by jointly inviting Council of Europe and/or European Parliament representatives,” and adds that “the opposition’s repeated absences from parliament since the elections are delaying the adoption of laws requiring a 3/5 majority; points out that much of the penal legislation needs such a majority, as does the long-awaited law on administrative courts; asks the opposition, therefore, to reflect deeply on its political actions.”
Referring the last year’s elections the European resolution says that they “met most international standards, but failed to enhance confidence in the electoral process” and it urges full implementation of the OSCE/ODIHR’s final report recommendations.
They called on both the majority and opposition in the Albanian Parliament to begin work immediately with a view to implementing those recommendations fully;
Albania is expecting the visa liberalization and a positive answer to its candidate status request.
Lawmakers welcomed the adoption on 27 May 2010 of the Commission’s legislative proposal on visa liberalization, and called on the Commission to check that the remaining benchmarks were met in the coming months, with the aim of clearing the way for the Council and Parliament to approve the introduction of a visa waiver for Albanian citizens by the end of 2010.
While the first may come later this year, the latter seems doubtful for the moment.
The EP said that “any realistic prospect of membership involves more than simply completing an administrative or technical procedure, also requiring a genuine political commitment on the part of relevant decision-makers in the Member States,” that is, it will again be a hard work to convince 27 member countries on Albania’s European prospects, adding “its full support for Albania’s application for EU membership…, once it has achieved a certain level of political stability and reliability and fully meets the Copenhagen criteria.”
So it is there, the Copenhagen criteria, which is resolving the political crisis.
Europe hails Albania’s successes but urges it for more. Integration is a long process.
“At the same time (it) stresses that a candidate country’s progress towards EU membership depends on its ability to meet the Copenhagen criteria, including the existence of stable institutions guaranteeing democracy,” it said.
Some other topics Albanians should take care of is that implementation of the reforms is still at an early stage; judicial reform, including the enforcement of court decisions, is a key prerequisite for Albania’s EU membership application process; stresses the importance of the separation of powers in a democratic society; that a transparent, impartial and efficient judiciary, independent of all political or other pressure or control, is fundamental to the rule of law, and calls for the urgent adoption of a comprehensive long-term strategy in this field, including a road map for adopting the necessary legislation and implementing measures.
Well, when considering the indefinite timing for such prospects, one may really consider EU’s words “the future of the Western Balkans lies in the EU” as really ironic.
