TIRANA, Feb 6 /ATA/ – The Delegation of the European Union in Tirana has reaffirmed Brussels support for justice reform and SPAK, praising Albania’s anticorruption and anticrime body for tangible results.
The response comes a week after the United States President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause in U.S. foreign development assistance, including Albania.
In an exclusive statement for Top Channel TV on Thursday, EU underlined that more sources are being planned to assist the justice system reform in Albania.
The EU Delegation highlighted results of the Special Anticorruption Prosecution Structure in investigating and prosecuting high-level corruption cases, saying the EU has supported SPAK with a total budget of 8 million euros since the structure was established.
“The EU has been at the forefront of providing assistance for Justice Reform and is determined to continue supporting Justice Reform in Albania. Since the justice system underwent a fundamental reform in 2016, the EU has significantly intensified this support. The EU assistance includes budgetary support and over 50 million euros of technical assistance,” the EU Delegation in Tirana said in a statement.
The EU also affirmed that more significant sources are being planned as part of its steady support, also under the Reform and Growth Facility for Western Balkans.
“SPAK’s role, its independence in investigating and prosecuting complex corruption cases is of key importance. EU supports SPAK since its establishment through technical assistance under the EU4LEA and EU4 FOCAL programmes with a total budget of over 8 million euros. SPAK has produced tangible results, contributing to Albania’s overall efforts to establish a credible track record in the fight against serious crime, organised crime and corruption, including high-profile corruption cases,” the EU Delegation stated.
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