Working Group for Chapter 24 – Justice, Freedom, Security – Rule of Law Roadmap and next steps after the opening of negotiating Cluster 1: Fundamentals , 7 December 2023

On 7^th December 2023, in Tirana, a discussion table was organised within the Working Group for Chapter 24 under the National Convention on European Integration and the Partnership Platform on European Integration, from the European Movement in Albania and the Ministry of Interior of Albania. With the participation of civil society actors, experts involved in Chapter 24 issues, representatives from university and professionals from public administration, the focus of the discussion was the presentation of the Rule of Law Roadmap and the concrete steps expected after the opening of the Cluster 1 – Fundamentals, after the screening process was successfully completed for Albania.

Besfort Lamallari, Interior Deputy Minister, in his opening remarks, provided an overview of the process on the progress so far and put the focus more on some important elements related to the Rule of Law Roadmap, a document that is prepared by the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, as the two institutions are responsible for the negotiations of Chapter 23 & Chapter 24. Lamallari emphasised that joining the European Union brings stability and prosperity, and the progress made so far is the merit of work and commitment made by the administration and other actors who have cooperated, and have also received positive evaluations from the European Commission. It is seen from such a positive point of view that this process has not had any regress, but what is expected from now on requires even more effort, work, and tangible and achieved results. Regarding the Rule of Law Roadmap with the main focus on the issues covered by Chapter 24, Lamallari analysed the legislative developments, but also the priorities and measures planned to be implemented. As for the ongoing fight against organised crime, he mentioned that it is prioritising the setup of the asset recovery office, which will be initiated in Albania for the first time. Another priority element is the increase in border police capacities, in which according to Lamallari this year’s touristic season,  with about 9 million tourists welcomed in Albania put the highlight on the challenges thatBorder Police faced to manage this influx related to three directions: 1) increase of police capacity, 2) cooperating more with their European colleagues, 3) improving technology. Regarding the fight against drugs, the Deputy Minister underlined the cooperation between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to not only identify new drugs and increase the fight against them but, above all, considering it in another spectrum, focused on  drug use prevention, and on the treatment of their users, implying that social protection and public health is also included. He concluded that the continuation of the process needs cooperation between state institutions and agencies. He claimed that the participation and presentations of the three agencies during the screening process, namely the Police, the Prosecution, and the SPAK is a successful example, and also put emphasis on the involvement and contribution of the actors of civil society and Platform members, as this process will require time, and financial and human resources.

Gledis Gjipali, Executive Director of the European Movement in Albania, was focused on the involvement of civil society actors in the process, elucidating the findings of the European Commission’s report on civil society and making a comparison with the state of play  in the other countries of the Western Balkan region. Gjipali emphasised that the public administration is the engine for making reforms, laws and policies that need to be undertaken, and this is a process that requires commitment and energy, and cooperation with non-governmental actors that can contribute. The case of the discussion table for Chapter 24 is a positive example of a good and productive cooperation established between governmental and civil society actors. With this being said, according to Gjipali, it is necessary and required that the involvement of civil society actors to be further expanded, and they to be invited and involved more, while being provided with the opportunity of being informed to understand the importance of the process and the value of their contributions. He pointed out that it is significant to capitalise on this valuable moment of cooperation to create a channel of dialogue and sustainable cooperation between the parties, particularly for processes that are long and take years. The evaluation of the Commission on Civil Society in Albania remains unchangeable compared to one year ago where the civil society roadmap is not effective and the work of the National Council for Civil Society has not moved forward. There is a positive estimation of the public consultation process, but there are still drawbacks in some areas in this regard. Gjipali emphasised that the overall assessment of the Commission’s report on Albania has been positive and has been talking about progress, at least in the last three years, unlike some WB countries that have backslided  or have  had no progress.

Aleksandar-Andrija Pejović, former Montenegrin negotiator for European Integration, outlined above all, that the Rule of Law Roadmap is one of the most crucial documents of the country on issues related to the Rule of Law and it is a combination of the strategic plan with the actual steps that have to be taken. It will lead Albania for the initiatives and reforms that will be carried out in the following years as part of the negotiation process. He stated that the Roadmap is a practical document, easier to follow than a planning document, as it points straight out what the country’s strategic and political priorities are and what concrete measures and steps need to be taken to achieve these priorities. According to Pejović, during this process, civil society can also play its role and contribute specifically regarding its follow-up and the preparation  of monitoring and evaluative reports and documents. He mentioned as a positive example the work that CSOs in Serbia do, realising the so-calledShadow Reports, reports that civil society itself prepares with the focus being on the Rule of Law issues after monitoring the work of responsible public institutions and comparing reports extracted from the latter. Explaining the negotiation process, he underlined that for each Chapter (23 and 24) based on the experience of Serbia and Montenegro, there may be about 20-30 interim benchmarks that will be required for the country to fulfil  and that may be an important element to include civil society with its expertise, to assist in their implementation but also to monitor the process. Regarding the Rule of Law Roadmap, the elements where Albania, according to him, should place the most emphasis on, are: the increase in the number and capacities of human resources, equipment with  technical tools that are needed, the establishment of new agencies and structures, and a realistic and stable track record (where not only the number of cases and seizures is estimated, but also their importance and size).
In conclusion, he said that for the best essential involvement of CSOs in the process, dialogue with public institutions and the good coordination of work is one of the main keys. This cooperation between the two sides will make it possible to share experiences and increase the capacities of both parties. He concluded by stating that progress for Cluster 1 is essential, as if there is no progress there, there will not be any progress for the other clusters as well.

The discussion table was followed by an open discussion with participants, where  recommendations were issued by the roundtable members for Chapter 24, such as:  methods to include and inform civil society members about the future stages of the process, opportunities for collaborations regarding activities and initiatives of common issues related to Chapter 24 such as the seizure of assets, cyber-crime as well the increase of the cooperation with universities and lecturers, who can offer their expertise and inform students and youth about the process..