In his speech at the high-level meeting “Albania 2030 in the EU – The Path of Reforms,” organized by the Albanian Assembly, Xhafaj stated, “We have chosen the longest and most difficult path, but we believe it is the most secure route to gain the expected results. This process involves a detailed analysis, evaluation, and diagnosis of the situation, identifying the needs for interventions through legal, structural, and institutional measures, and then translating them into concrete actions for implementation.”

“Just six months have gone by, and today we can point out several key aspects that, in my opinion, mark new developments in this complex process,” Xhafaj stated.

Xhafaj emphasized that “over the past 10 years, the Assembly has, for the second time, become the constitutional and institutional space, as well as the promoter for initiating, organizing, and implementing two major state-building reforms. First, with the justice reform, which began 10 years ago, now a tangible reality and widely praised, and now, this year, with this complex reform aimed at tackling three key challenges. This is a very meaningful indicator that demonstrates the maturity of our democracy, reflecting the responsibility and reformative role of the Assembly, also due to the weight and constitutional functions it carries in our parliamentary republic.”

Xhafaj highlighted, “It is positive and meaningful that the reform process involves a range of key factors from Albanian society: state institutions, independent agencies, the academia, civil society, the business community, relevant professionals, and the citizens themselves. This is an indicator of the democratic maturity of all social life factors, who, despite their differing viewpoints and positions, whether supportive or critical of our government, muster the strength to join their energies in a common effort to the country’s benefit. It sends a strong message about the need for such inclusive processes to create a common synergy in achieving the major societal objectives, such as the country’s European integration, the need for good governance, strengthening the rule of law, and combating corruption.”

Xhafaj said that, following the justice reform, this is another process that strongly demonstrates that our country possesses a great intellectual and professional wealth.

“We should be proud that we have such capacities among us, with expertise in European standards, capable of undertaking and managing reforms of such magnitude, complexity, and high expectations. Around 70 high-level experts, proposed by independent institutions, the academia (public and private universities), civil society organizations, and the business community, are engaged in this process, supported by a Technical Secretariat mainly based on the Assembly’s own capacities. Approximately 35% of them hold academic titles, around 30% are professors in the fields of law and economics, 40% are experts/representatives from 22 civil society organizations, and over 90% of the experts have more than 10 years of experience in these fields,” Xhafaj emphasized.

In this process, Xhafaj continued, more than 40 international experts have been engaged as external consultants at GENL, with around half of them being Albanian nationals in the diaspora. These individuals serve as professors, researchers, or law enforcement professionals in various countries around the world, with some also working as international experts in other countries.

Furthermore, Xhafaj pointed out that “we are concluding the analysis, an analytical document of about 700 pages, which scans the state of play in three areas, based on the relevant official reports issued in recent years, both domestic and international, and primarily on the findings, assessments, issues, and recommendations in the EU Reports and documents where the Albanian state has expressed its commitments within the integration process.”

/sm/