TIRANA, March 31 – EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn has urged the political class in Albania to overcome differences and to press ahead with the judicial reform, which is seen as key for the country’s opening of EU accession talks.
“You must focus on the reform and not complicate things. I call on all parties to sit at a table and take the final step without any conditions regarding the adoption and implementation of the reform. There should be no blame trading as interest is mutual on both sides,” the EU Commissioner said during a visit to Albania this week.
Hahn highlighted the fact that the justice reform is simply one of the conditions since Albania has other ‘homework’ to work on including electoral reform before it receives a green light from the EU.
“A functional judiciary is extremely important and that’s the first priority. Other key priorities are public administration reform, decriminalization law and electoral reform,” Hahn added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Edi Rama publicly invited the opposition for dialogue on the justice reform.
“I invite the Democratic Party to sit at a table and I am ready to listen with respect all of their concerns since I am sure we can treat our disagreements in a civilized way. We must be able to separate our agendas from the national agenda, where luckily we don’t have any disagreements regarding the country’s European integration path,” Rama said.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn also met with President Bujar Nishani, who reiterated his stance that the justice reform represents a constitutional reform that goes beyond the mechanisms of the justice system and as such it has to guarantee longevity.
“The willingness of parties to maintain this course is key at this phase of the process, the President said. The President also shared with the EU Commissioner his concern regarding the property restitution law, which according to the President goes against the standard established by the European Court of Human Rights, according to a statement by the President’s press office.
After meeting with the head of state, Hahn held talks with the leader of the opposition Lulzim Basha, who informed the Commissioner regarding the opposition’s stance on the reform following the interruption of political dialogue last week.
“I have asked for the support of the United States and now of the European Union for the execution of the Constitutional Court decisions as a precondition for the return of political dialogue” Basha said after meeting with the EU Commissioner.
For the leader of the opposition, the majority is responsible for the stalling of talks on the reform.
“The majority holds hostage political dialogue on justice reform. This is not a matter of dialogue or negotiations, but it is the clinical death of the rule of law in Albania,” Basha added.
DP chairman Basha said that the Prime Minister is co-ruling with criminal elements and that Albania has taken steps backwards with democracy and the strengthening of the rule of law.
The EU Enlargement Commissioner repeated his appeal for political cooperation on the justice reform at the National Council for European Integration, where political parties were unable to avoid bickering despite Hahn’s appeal.
“We are ready to help, but we can’t substitute your work. This should be done by your authorities, we cannot do your job,” Hahn said.
Albanian politics has failed to reach compromise on the reform despite previously being hopeful for the completion of the reform ahead of the visit of Enlargement Commissioner Hahn.
Earlier this month, the majority and the opposition resumed talks and reached consensus over some key issues before the opposition abandoned the table requesting the review of mandates of two majority MPs by the Constitutional Court on conflict of interest grounds.
The political situation in the country was further inflamed by a protest turned violent by the opposition, which ended in the arrest of dozens of its supporters including a former MP.
