TIRANA, June 14 – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged Albania to approve the judicial reform as soon as possible, describing it as crucial for the country to launch accession talks with European Union.
Steinmeier visited Tirana on Tuesday and met with high rank officials including his Albanian counterpart Ditmir Bushati. In a press conference after the meetings, Steinmeier said that Germany and European Union need Albania to have “an independent justice system that fights corruption” and are interested in seeing the country progress towards EU. However, he warned that without adopting the judicial reform, the country’s integration process cannot be accelerated.
“I hope that the judicial reform does not become an obstacle for EU accession. The judicial reform provides a window of opportunity for Albania. The reform can help Albania become a model in the region in terms of rule of law. If the reform is not completed, the membership process cannot gain speed,” he said.
Steinmeier who visited Albania to help solve the political stalemate was also received by Prime Minister Edi Rama who underlined the importance of justice reform in the country’s path towards EU integration. “The European Union welcomes Albania but it expects that country meets all conditions. I am happy that the German minister stressed the importance of this reform which is a product of a close collaboration with European Union and United States of America,” Rama said.
Minister Steinmeier also met with the chairman of Albania’s Democratic Party Lulzim Basha. The latter informed Steinmeier about “the extraordinary pressure that Prime Minister Rama is exercising against the judicial sector.” Interlocutors talked extensively about justice reform as well as the stance of the opposition based on recommendations issued by the Venice Commission. Basha informed Steinmeier about the alleged attempts of the ruling majority to buy votes and warned that if opposition mandates are trafficked than the Democrats will burn their mandates off.
The country was granted candidate status in 2014, five years after applying for EU membership. The European Union has insisted that Albania makes progress with key reforms that will pave the way to opening accession talks. The European Commission has insisted that regardless of the progress, Albania must do more work to improve judicial system, rule of law, fight corruption and organized crime as well as protect fundamental rights of its citizens including property rights.
