Guideline for Monitoring and Analysis of the Criteria “Functioning of Democratic Institutions” (Cluster 1), December 2025

The Guideline for Monitoring and Analysis of the Functioning of Democratic Institutions is a practical and methodological tool aimed at strengthening the role of civil society and experts in Albania’s European integration process, specifically within Cluster 1 – Fundamentals. It provides a clear framework for monitoring reforms across three measurable areas: the electoral process (e.g. implementation of ODIHR recommendations on campaign financing, misuse of state resources, and election administration), the functioning of Parliament (parliamentary oversight, hearings, post-legislative scrutiny, and committee transparency), and the role of civil society and participatory democracy (public consultations, the functioning of the Partnership Platform for European Integration, access to information, and media freedom). The Guideline directly links this analysis to EU standards, European Commission reports, and the national Roadmap on the Functioning of Democratic Institutions. Its added value lies in the use of measurable indicators and a structured monitoring cycle, moving from data collection to institutional dialogue and follow-up on recommendations.

For civil society, the Guideline specifies how data should be produced and how it should be used. It requires CSOs to collect evidence from official sources (the Central Election Commission, Parliament, the Audiovisual Media Authority, the People’s Advocate, and the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Data Protection), compare it against the Roadmap benchmarks, and report it in a timely manner ahead of the European Commission’s Annual Report. Concretely, it directs findings to be presented through the Partnership Platform for European Integration, the National Council for European Integration, and EU-focused shadow reports, so that progress, or the lack thereof, is directly reflected in the official assessment of accession negotiations. In this way, civil-society monitoring goes beyond opinion and becomes a documented, concrete contribution to the accession process.

This material was produced within the project “Building Partnership on Fundamentals: Empowering CSOs for the EU accession process”, with the financial support of the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the European Movement in Albania and the authors, and does not necessarily reflect the views and positions of the European Union.

The project “Building Partnership on Fundamentals: Empowered CSOs in the EU accession process” is being implemented by the European Movement in Albania (EMA), with the financial support of the European Union – IPA Civil Society Facility 2021, in cooperation with the Academy of European Integration and Negotiations (AIEN), Slovak Foreign Policy Association (SFPA) and the Center for Transparency and Freedom of Information (CTFI).

Guideline for Monitoring and Analysis of the Criteria “Functioning of Democratic Institutions” (Cluster 1), December 2025