TIRANA, June 13 – Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama drew a “red line” for the country’s justice reform on Monday despite the international community’s determination to have the reform approved as soon as possible. In a press conference, Rama said that the ruling majority does not want to expel the opposition from the decision making process but the Socialists are not willing to engage in party bargains.
“There are two pillars to this reform. The first deals with reviewing and scrutinizing all of those civil servants, prosecutors and judges who are paid with taxpayer’s money. We do not negotiate on that. The second pillar is the Supreme Council of Justice and the establishment of new institutions. If we build ourselves a new home but invite the same residents that have made everything so dirty, then independence is not guaranteed. We will not negotiate on these two institutions. We do not accept reserved seats nor deal with political bargains,” Rama said.
At a time when the Democratic Party has strongly positioned itself in favor of reserved seats, a special formula for the appointment of prosecutors and members of the Judicial Councils, Rama said that the ruling majority will stand by its requirement for a qualified majority for the Special Committee for Qualifications for prosecutors and judges.
“In respect to the Special Commission for Qualifications and the Commission for Professional Ethics that will act as a filter for judges and prosecutors, we will not give up on our request of having a qualified majority to approve it. These issues are beyond the red line that we will not cross. There is no chance for compromise on these matters. If these matters are jeopardized than may this reform never see the day of light,” said the Prime Minister.
“There is an opportunity for compromise for the Judicial Council and Prosecution’s Council. We are ready to take a step back from our qualified majority of votes request if the Democrats take a step back from their request for reserved seats,” he added.
During the press conference, Rama responded to claims that the reform has put a strain on its relations with the junior coalition partner, the Socialist Movement for Integration. “Meta and I are co-chairmen of the ruling coalition. We are not each-other’s spokesperson. We want the draft on justice reform to be ready in the assembly before the deadline and hope that Democratic Party will join us and will be willing to vote the draft” Rama said.
Failure to approve the reform will push Albania into a deadlock with EU
Rama’s statements came one week after his meeting with opposition leader Lulzim Basha. In their first public encounter Rama and Basha failed to find consensus on the appointment of members of the justice council and the structure of new judicial institutions. After three hours of talks, Rama told reporters that he was sorry that the Democrats were not willing to vote on the draft and that the majority is determined to pass it in Parliament.
“The Democrats have used all means and excuses to change the essence of the reform, drag it out and make it fail. However they cannot tell to Albanians, Brussels, and Washington a single reason why they didn’t accept the judicial reform,” Rama said.
The chairman of Democratic Party Lulzim Basha told reporters that the opposition wants fair rules that guarantee the independence of the country’s new judicial system from the ruling majority.
“Any unilateral attempt of taking to Parliament a draft that is not agreed by the opposition is going to fail,” he emphasized. The approval of the reform requires the votes of 93 out of 140 MPs. The ruling majority clearly does not have the right numbers. The pressure from the international community has been intense. The European Union and United States have warned Albania that if the parliament does not approve the reform by June, Albania would lose its opportunity to launch European Union accession talks this year and even enter into a deadlock with EU.
