“The Europeanization of Public Policies in Albania”- forums and information sessions

European Movement in Albania within the framework of the Erasmus+ program of the EU Jean Monnet- Center of Excellence “The Europeanization of Public Policies in Albania” (ERASMUS-JMO-2021-HEI-TCH-RSCH) has organized several forums and info-sessions bringing together young professionals from different sectors to discuss and share views on European Integration process, empower them to shape and influence policies in local, national and EU level and accordingly transfer the acquired knowledge into their working environment and wide public.

The Forum “EU Impact in Transforming Albanian Institutions” was organized on October 14, 2022. Gledis Gjipali, The Executive Director of EMA commented on the 2022 European Commission’s Report for Albania with a particular focus on the Political Criteria. Altin Fuga, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs introduced the negotiating structures including the Partnership Platform for European Integration, and explained the stages and the procedures of the EU integration process. Agim Rrapaj, Agribusiness Council of Albania oriented the deliberations towards the administrative capacities of our country to fulfill the EU requirements for each chapter. Ermelinda Kordha, University of Tirana provided a few pointers regarding the involvement of the academia in the negotiation process.

The Informative Session “The Europeanization of Fiscal Policies” was organized on October 21, 2022. Denarda Kenaj, specialist at the General Directorate of Taxes, provided information regarding tax legislation specifically about international agreements ratified by the National Assembly; tax laws; by-laws, decisions of the Council of Ministers, regulations, and technical instructions of the General Directorate of Taxes. Kanaj gave more insights concerning the system for monitoring the circulation of electronic invoices from entities such as public bodies, banks, non-bank financial institutions, and all taxpayers who issue invoices according to this law.

The Forum “The Impact of the European Integration Process in Albania: The Case of the Free Movement of Lawyers and the Promotion of Women’s Rights” was held on December 1, 2022, at Bedër University College. Gentjan Skara, lecture emphasized the relevance of this forum and shortly explained the harmonization of the Albanian legislation with the EU Acquis. Eriada Çela gender expert from “The University of Elbasan” brought to attention the impact of the European integration process on promoting women’s rights. Denard Veshi from “Beder” College spoke about the freedom of movement of lawyers and compared the EU legislation with Albanian legislation. Ada Guven Lecturer at “Beder” College presented the conclusions of the activity.

Forum “Bioethics, EU and Albania’s integration process” was organized on December 15, 2022. Enida Bozheku, lecturer at “Qiriazi” College moderated the activity and spoke about the relevance of this forum. Endrita Shehu, Policy Researcher at EMA, explained the legislation concerning the right to information and public consultation in Albania, emphasizing the promotion of integrity, transparency, and accountability of public authorities. Denard Veshi, lecturer at “Beder University College” explained the importance of informing patients about their rights by applying an interdisciplinary approach.

The Informative Session “Europeanization of Labour Law” was held on December 20, 2022. Av. Enkelejda Koka, Ph.D. focused her presentation on lawsuits against the termination of the employment contract; the termination without reasonable reasons; and the impact of European labor law on Albanian legislation. She mentioned four main areas of EU labor rights regulation including individual labor rights, anti-discrimination regulations, rights for information, consultation, participation in work, and rights to work security. Koka explained a few practical cases and explained the Labor Code of the Republic of Albania from Articles 93(2) and 92(3).

The Informative Session “Europeanisation of Criminal Law to legal entities” was organized on January 10, 2023. Speaker Prof. Assoc. Av Ersi Bozheku focused his presentation on the criminal responsibility of legal entities in the European Union; the impact of European legislation on Albanian national law; the criminal responsibility of the legal entity in Albania; the sharing of responsibility personal from that the legal entity as well as the positive and negative reasons of Comparative Law. He added that legal entities, with the exception of state institutions, are criminally responsible for criminal offenses committed in their name or for their benefit by their bodies and representatives.

Forum “EU, Albanian Integration and European Private Law” was held at National School of Advocacy on March 14, 2023. Gentjan Skara, Ph.D. lecturer at “Bedër” College spoke mostly about the sources of EU law and listed them according to their relevance starting with the primary sources, the general principles, the decisions of the European Court of Justice of the EU, and lastly the ones defined as soft laws. Nirvana Deliu, Project Coordinator at EMA gave more insights on the subject of EU expansion in the Western Balkans. Denard Veshi, lecturer at “Bedër” college explained the basis of the European private law where he first started with an introduction to the principles of ownership and inheritance rights provided for in the EU.

The Informative Session “European Right of Lawyers” was held on October 6, 2023, in which speaker Prof. Asoc. Dr. Denard Veshi focused his presentation on the EU Advocacy Law: Freedom of Movement of Lawyers and on the EU Property Law: Directive 2008/122/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 January 2009 on the protection of consumers in respect of certain aspects of timeshare, long-term holiday product, resale and exchange contracts. He first focused on the free movement of lawyers, and explained the two ways for concrete solutions to various problems, such as: the title of the house and the host title.

The Forum “EU Enlargement and Human Smuggling” was held on November 17, 2023 with speakers Gledis Gjipali, Executive Director, EMA, and Prof. Asoc. Dr. Denard Veshi, Lecturer at the Bedër University College, addressed the topic of EU enlargement by linking this process to the phenomenon of human trafficking, taking into account the EU Strategy and Directive 2011/36/EU on combating human smuggling. Gjipali explained that this strategy includes several key measures, such as funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to support trafficking victims, as well as strengthening partnerships to ensure the protection of victims’ rights. Meanwhile, Veshi clarified that human trafficking is not codified in Albanian legislation as a specific criminal activity, judges by applying EU law and international case law are aware of the distinction between human trafficking and human smuggling.

 The Informative Session “Albania’s Pathway towards the EU accession and the Influence of EU Law on Albania’s Legal System”, was held on January 30, 2025, in which EU Law lecturer and expert Gentjan Skara, presented an overview of Albania’s progress toward EU membership, highlighting key developments such as the opening of Cluster 1 – Fundamentals and Cluster 6 – External Relations. He also discussed the critical reforms required to further align Albanian legislation with the EU acquis, as mandated by the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). Skara further elaborated on the way Albania has significantly benefitted from these reforms, particularly in strengthening the judicial system by enhancing the independence, efficiency, and accountability of its courts.

The Forum “Migration policies in the light of European cooperation: Balance between migration flow and integration?” was held on February 26, 2025 by European Movement in Albania, in collaboration with Bedër University College. It aimed to discuss the policies of migration in Albania as part of the efforts towards European Union accession and particularly in the context of Chapter 24 “Justice, Freedom and Security”. In this regard, the forum analysed the Italy-Albania Protocol and the legal complexities, inter alia, consequential implications of it. The panellists, Dr. Ada Güven, Prof. Assoc. Dr. Enkelejda Koka, Prof. Asoc. PhD. PhD. Denard Veshi, Nirvana Deliu, Policy Researcher, Prof. PhD. Gentjan Skara, addressing an audience of students and lecturers, engaged in extensive discussions throughout the presentations.

The Informative session  “European Private Law, Privacy and Competition”, with two speakers, namely Prof. Asoc. Dr. Denard Veshi, PhD., Professor at the Bedër University College, and PhD. Gentjan Skara, Professor at the Epoka University, was held on March 4th, 2025. Veshi addressed the issue of European private law within the framework of property law, emphasizing the importance of this legal institute as a premise for other areas of law, such as tax law, environmental law, and more. Skara further addressed the evolution of competition legislation in Albania. Initially, competition law in Albania was only enshrined in a few isolated provisions, but now there is a dedicated institution, such as the Competition Authority, which works to ensure free and effective competition in the market, in accordance with the relevant legislation.