TIRANA, April 25/ATA/ – The EU-Albanian Stabilisation and Association Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security held Thursday its 11th meeting .
The meeting was co-chaired for the EU by Ms. Michela Matuella, Head of Unit at the Directorate General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission and Sokol Dedja, Deputy Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
The meeting allowed for a constructive and fruitful discussion on a wide range of issues, including the functioning of the judiciary, anti-corruption policy, and fundamental rights, asylum and migration, border management and visa policy, fight against organised crime and terrorism, anti-money laundering, police and judicial cooperation.
The European Commission and the Albanian authorities agreed on the importance for the country to continue and step up efforts in the fight against corruption, and organised crime, in particular regarding anti-money laundering and asset confiscation, as well as addressing the issue of terrorism financing.
The Commission also emphasized the importance of finalizing the establishment of Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Structure, SPAK.
The European took note of a number of steps taken by Albania in recent months to address the challenge of unfounded asylum applications to EU Member States, and Schengen countries in 2018 compared to 2017, which have effectively contributed to a decrease in the number of applications. It noted that efforts must be pursued and urged Albania to continue giving priority to this important issue.
The Albanian authorities should swiftly implement the recommendations of the Moneyval report on anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing Further efforts are needed towards establishing a solid track record of investigations, prosecutions and final convictions in the fight against corruption and organised crime.//a.i/
