Claus Neukirch, Director of the Programme Coordination Directorate at the Council of Europe, made the remarks in an interview with ATA on the sidelines of the event “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye: A Decade of Impact – Advancing Reforms through the Partnership between the European Union and the Council of Europe – Lessons Learned and Vision for the Future”, held today in Tirana.

During the interview, Neukirch touched on the programme’s results in Albania, highlighting, among other things, its support for improving the efficiency of the judicial system.

“By working to improve the efficiency of the justice system, we help the judiciary handle cases more quickly. This has a real impact on people, who can receive a court decision sooner,” he said.

Another important area, according to Neukirch, is property rights.

He said the programme has helped more than 2,700 people verify their property rights, also as part of the enforcement of a judgment by the European Court on Human Rights.

In the fight against corruption, he highlighted support for the establishment of a digital asset registry and the development of mechanisms for recovering assets obtained through criminal activities.

“This means that assets derived from criminal activity are ultimately returned to society,” Neukirch said.

Speaking about media freedom and the safety of journalists, he said the programme has supported the State Police in improving protocols for cases in which journalists are threatened, with the aim of strengthening their safety.

He also referred to the programme’s previous work with the media regulator.

In the field of human rights, Neukirch highlighted support for improving legislation aimed at protecting minority rights, as well as for police protocols on investigating hate crimes and cases of discrimination.

As regards the European integration process, Neukirch described the link between Council of Europe standards and European Union criteria as direct.

Regarding Albania’s European integration process, Neukirch stressed that Council of Europe standards are directly linked to the criteria set by the European Union..

“Albania is a member state of the Council of Europe and has a number of obligations arising from this membership, starting with the European Convention on Human Rights,” he said.

According to Neukirch, fulfilling these obligations also contributes to the country’s EU accession negotiations, particularly in relation to the fundamentals chapters.

“By advancing reforms and moving closer to fulfilling your obligations as a Council of Europe member state, you are consequently in a stronger position to advance your negotiations and the fundamentals chapters with the European Union,” he said.

Neukirch stressed that this is precisely what makes the Horizontal Facility important, as a joint partnership between the European Union and the Council of Europe.

“We are here together to promote reforms in line with European standards and the conventions of the Council of Europe,” he concluded.

/sm/