With a large majority of 502 votes in favor, 120 against and 64 abstentions, the European Parliament approved the report on Albania. However, strong criticism was not lacking in the debate among EU lawmakers.
Welcoming Albania’s unwavering commitment to membership in the European bloc and the conclusion of negotiations by 2027, the deputies called for the fulfillment of priorities such as strengthening the independence of the judiciary, fighting corruption and organized crime, protecting fundamental rights and increasing media freedom.
A problematic point that occupied a good part of the debate in the European Parliament was the confrontational language between political parties, while there was also criticism of the May elections.
“To meet its goal of full EU membership by 2030, it is essential to continue the good work by expanding the economic model, creating jobs and improving the social welfare model, as well as implementing a comprehensive electoral reform,” stressed Andreas Schieder, Rapporteur for Albania in the EP.
We welcome the Parliament’s recognition of the important steps that Albania has taken in the right direction in the context of the accession negotiations. We count on the Government of Albania to continue to pursue all necessary reforms to address the remaining shortcomings. Meeting this challenge will require strong efforts from the Albanian Government, as well as close cooperation with the opposition in parliament and civil society at large. Enlargement is a project of the whole of society and the full support of the entire Albanian society will be needed to achieve Albania’s ambitious but realistic goal of closing all negotiation chapters by the end of 2027”, declared Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement.
“The 2023 and 2024 reports on Albania have highlighted ongoing challenges. The parliamentary elections in May took place in a deeply polarized environment. There are frequent parliamentary boycotts, ongoing confrontations and a lack of genuine dialogue. As we have just heard, our election observation delegation led by our colleague, Michael Gala, confirmed that these elections were competitive, but were marred by the abuse of public resources and vote buying. The Central Election Commission failed to ensure a level playing field. The way forward requires more than technical adjustments. It requires political will and broad consensus. Real reform cannot come from one party alone. It requires dialogue, trust and inclusion among all Albanian political forces,” said David Mcallister of the European People’s Parties.
Among other things, the strong support from both the EU and the bloc’s parliament for Albania’s accession was mentioned, while our country was presented as the favorite to join the union from the Western Balkans.