Officials’ immunity leads political agenda

TIRANA, Aug. 2 – Voting for the draft law on lifting or limiting the immunity to lawmakers and senior officials and the judiciary has been the main political issue this week for the main political forces in the country and their leaders — Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the governing Democratic Party and Edi Rama of the main opposition Socialist party.
Both sides have already agreed on the draft as proposed by the Council of Europe experts. Now the problem remains with the opposition Socialists.
The Democrats set Aug. 6, next Monday as the parliamentary session to vote for the draft law. But they seemed not to agree on a date. The opposition Socialists want that to be done in September. Such a draft law needs at least three-fifth of the 140-seat parliament to be passed as that will be done with constitutional amendments. That number can be achieved only when both forces join their votes as they did for the electoral code.
But why are the Socialists against the vote on Monday?
They have repeated consistently that the draft law has been accepted by them. But they need it to be part of a bigger package of laws, including those of the election of the judges in the Supreme and the Constitutional Courts to be passed as constitutional amendments.
They say that the constitution cannot be amended as many times as Berisha wants. They want one vote, in September, for the whole package fearing that Berisha may not agree for the other part of the package if that on the immunity is voted.
Berisha on his side said Wednesday that in a letter that the EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele had sent to him the issue of immunity was of fundamental importance ahead of an EU decision on Albania’s candidate status request.
Useless to mention tit-for-tat exchange of accusation from both sides.
The fact seems to be that the law on lifting the immunity is of major importance in the country’s steps of integration into the EU.
True that the law on lifting the immunity does not really mean that the corrupted high officials will be confronted with the law. Experience of the recent years has shown clearly that even when the immunity has been lifted for certain ministers of senior officials, judges have found the way to avoid their further proceedings in the law.
But still lifting the immunity will be an open agenda for the accusation against senior officials and a free way for prosecutors to start investigation.
That is just a step, a proper one, which Albania needs.
That could probably push the Socialists to think again their stand against voting on Monday for the law.
There has been tense international pressure against them, starting from that of the U.S. Ambassador, Alexander Arvizu to that of the EU’s one Ettore Sequi.
On Tuesday Tirana was visited from Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis whose country holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency.
Marcoullis also made it clear that the issue of immunity was of fundamental importance along Tirana’s candidate status request.
Albania applied for the candidate status in 2009. Brussels has twice given a negative answer mainly due to the problems that the political fight in the country creates to the required reforms.
During her visit Marcoullis met with all top leaders in the country, including opposition leader Edi Rama, in her capacity as chair of the General Affairs Council of the European Union, responsible for enlargement discussed the priorities of the Cyprus EU Presidency, the current situation in the country and Albania’s prospective in the integration process.
In all the meetings there were discussed the perspectives of the process of integration of Albania into European Union.
Europe hails the recent dialogue, since last November, between the two main political forces, which has resulted in some good steps for the country’s reforms and urge further constructive political dialogue and cooperation to complete on-going work on the key priorities set from Brussels in the annual progress reports.
It is clear that Tirana needs to achieve a critical mass of results, probably not all possible as the time is running short. But it is clear that unless such reforms, 12 key priorities, are fulfilled Tirana should not hope of a positive response this year, which is also the 100th anniversary of its independence. Integration into the European Union is a merit-based process.
Albania, its leaders and politicians should make the best possible use of the time remaining.