In his opening remarks at a regular meeting, the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Fatmir Xhafaj highlighted the fact that the analytical documents have been open to a broad consulting process and international consultancy assisting the Commission.

Socialist lawmaker stated that the document was extremely important given the issues it addresses and it definitely serves the European integration process.

According to him, the analytical document clearly reflects commitment and the EU recommendations as part of the country’s European integration, and the country’s efforts to build independent, accountable and effective institutions.

“By independent institutions, I don’t mean the justice bodies, but a series of other independent institutions of the Albanian state, which are accountable and subject to the parliamentary control and oversight,” he said.

The Special Anti-Corruption Commission has been established as part of the efforts to intensify the fight against corruption and advance good governance and the rule of law in the country.

The Commission comprises 11 members, with six from the majority and five from the opposition. To ensure transparency and inclusivity, a mix of local and international experts will collaborate, bringing insights from justice institutions, academia, civil society, and the media.

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“Around 600 participants have participated in the 11 roundtables, which in fact have been a contribution and added value. The opinions according to each pillar will be taken and reflected in their document. Thus, we shall not only address the issues raised, but also improve the final document which is given an added value through these suggestions”.

Gjonaj said that this is the last roundtable of this format in this process.

“This week begin the forums and discussions with interest groups. I also want to thank with this roundtable the experts who have been part of all the pillars in all the roundtables not only for their dynamic engagement during these last 5 months, but also for their professional contribution, as they have given this process not only the objectivity and impartiality of the presentation of the problems in this document, but also what is considered a solution by civil society actors, academia, business associations, or even independent institutions, including interest groups. This is an extraordinary contribution that the country needs”, said Gjonaj. /a.f/p.s./

The group of experts, who worked on the report that was presented to this roundtable, focused on the transparency and accountability of institutions while also highlighting their recommendations in these areas.

Klesta Hysi, lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana, listed some of the experts’ recommendations, while assessing that the Assembly ranks as the institution with the highest transparency.

“The working group has made recommendations within the framework of the need for legal improvements. The recommendations relate to the work of the Assembly itself, as well as some recommendations related to the transparency and consultation process”, she said.

According to Hysi, “The law on public consultation, as foreseen in the roadmap for public administration, needs to be amended to expand the categories subject to the consultation process”.

“There is a need for the coordinators to assume a key role”, she said.

Another recommendation of the expert group concerns the strengthening of the capacities of independent bodies such as the Ombudsman and the Commissioner for the Right to Information, which should be the focus of the Assembly, as key bodies in the country that monitor these areas and ensure the transparency of public institutions. /j.p/p.s./

A team of experts suggest that steps need to be taken mostly to adjust and improve cadastral date, digitize the real estate data and maps and further streamline application process to register property titles.

The Commission’s Vice Chairman Toni Gogu said in a televised interview on Sunday that such steps could be jointly taken through interaction of all relevant stakeholders, the State Cadastre, the Property Treatment Agency, the judiciary, local government authorities and public notary system.

According to him, the State Cadastre and the Property Treatment Agency could play a crucial role in delivering services and providing relevant documents so that former land and property owners can obtain what they have been denied and deprived from for so many years.

Gogu put emphasis on the need to tackle ownership rights, which is one the most complicated and cumbersome issues in Albania, highlighting overlapping claims and inaccurate property registrations.

The Socialist lawmaker noted that technology could be a very helpful tool in addressing property issues.

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In her remarks at a conference on accomplishments, outcomes and challenges of the vetting process, and the fight against corruption, Pasztory said that “if organized crime cases are not reported, they will never be referred to court and this phenomenon will not be fought.”

According to her, serious efforts have been made by the Special Anticrime and Anticorruption Prosecution Structure, SPAK, to eradicate these phenomena in the last few years.

“Most importantly, we need to make sure that public access is granted to all court cases. One of the areas we have strongly worked on together with civil society to tackle anti-corruption issues is the mandatory administrative reporting platform to set standard operating procedures and safeguard mechanisms. It would be worthless if people report organized crime and the cases are never referred to the court,” she said.

Pasztory underlined that Albania has made significant progress in these areas.

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The U.S. Embassy in Tirana announced via a post on the social media X on Friday that it will engage with the with the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee, saying that it expects that the work of the committee is inclusive and transparent, aligns with the constitution, protects the independence of institutions.

“As a steadfast partner of Albania’s efforts to advance reforms necessary for EU accession, the U.S. Embassy will engage with the ad hoc committee on good governance, anti-corruption, and rule of law. Our expectations are that the work of the committee is inclusive and transparent, aligns with the constitution, protects the independence of institutions, and improves Albania’s future,” the U.S. Embassy said in its statement.

The Committee, approved by parliament in May, has been established to drive key reforms and address corruption as part of Albania’s efforts to secure EU membership. The Committee aims at coordinating a reform designed to improve and consolidate good governance practices at all levels, deepen the fight against corruption and further strengthen the rule of law in the light of the findings and recommendations set forth by the European Union and the European Commission’s Screening Report on the first cluster of accession negotiations, and deliver on the government’s roadmaps on the rule of law and public administration reform.

The Committee comprises 11 members, with six from the majority and five from the opposition. Led by the ruling Socialist Party, it also includes an opposition member as vice-chair.

The Committee is expected to operate within a 10-month time-frame, with the option of extension based on reasoned requests. To ensure transparency and inclusiveness, a mix of local and international experts will collaborate, bringing insights from justice institutions, academia, civil society, and the media.

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Basha noted that corruption is still a serious concern, describing the scourge of corruption “a big gangrene of the society and the country’s economic development.”

The opposition leader took to the social media on Thursday to unveil a series of proposals aimed at combating corruption in the country, including support for the Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Prosecution Structure and Courts, establishment of an Assets Detection and Recovery Unit, verification of the concessions, and the private-public partnership contracts awarded over the past years.

One of the most striking elements of Basha’s agenda is the proposal to transform the State Supreme Audit into a State Audit Court with executive powers, changes to the anti-Mafia law to combat high-profile corruption.

“Corruption remains the biggest gangrene of the society and the country’s economic development. Albanians have lost over 10 billion euros due to massive corruption. Our program proposes quick and concrete anticorruption actions. We will establish the Assets Discovery and Recovery Unit that will be tasked with tracing the stolen assets of Albanians and return them to the public treasury; full and comprehensive support, as well as cooperation with SPAK and GJKKO; legal changes to the “Anti-Mafia” Law to fight high officials corruption and abuses; verification of concession contracts, PPPs, public procurements and cancellation of any corrupt contracts; confiscation of assets of public officials involved in corruption affairs and abusive PPPs,” Basha said.

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In a press statement, the opposition lawmaker Tabaku claimed that “Albania has dropped 27 points in the corruption perception index of the Transparency Internal since 2016.”

“Albania is at the state capture level, with corruption now being committed by adopting legislation pieces. Some 12 laws are considered laws designed to capture the state, with ten of them approved in the last nine years. Corruption is endemic and widespread in every institution, the EU Progress Report, as well as the U.S. State Department note. The European Court of Audit report states that 1 in three tenders 3 or 30% are awarded without competition. The Supreme State Audit has publicly announced that the economic damage in the last 8 years is estimated 8 billion euros,” Tabaku stated.

She explained that the five draft laws and the relevant amendments include the Law on Public Procurements, Law on Concessions and Public Private Partnership contracts, Law on Territorial Planning and Regulation; Law on Strategic Investments and the law on Parliamentary Inquiry Committees.

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Referring to the arrest of several officials under charges related to public procurement procedures, the DP lawmaker Enkeled Alibeaj noted that DP had denounced the corruption affair behind the tender launched by the Ministry of Interior for the police uniforms two years ago.”

“The then Interior Minister Sandër Lleshaj said that DP was slandering. Not only that, but Rama’s Interior Minister, who has spent 350 euros in Albanian taxpayers’ money to purchase a single police hat, even dared to file a libel lawsuit against DP, asking for one million lek compensation. Paradoxically, while truth is being unfolded to Albanians, the libel case filed by those who stole millions of euros in one tender alone is still underway,” Alibeaj said.

“Any individual who violates the law should be brought to justice as soon as possible, but it is clear to every Albanian citizen that a corruption affair of this size cannot be committed by second-hand officials,” he stated.

Alibeaj claimed that the Ministry of Interior had been informed over the SPAK anti-corruption operation three days ago, “allowing those involved in this affair to spoil, hide and destroy evidence relevant to this investigation.

“Every Albanian knows that a corruption operation of this size cannot take place without involvement of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, Plarent Ndreca, the Minister of Interior Sandër Lleshaj, and Prime Minister Edi Rama,” Alibeaj stated.

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