Cooperation and Development Institute participated in the workshop “Shaping the future of Albania” organized by the Southeast Europe Association (Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft) civil society activists from Albania – journalists, academics, young generation politicians and officials from administration – as well as German and international stakeholders – met in Munich.

They held a dialogue on Albania and its future under Chatham House Rules, looking for answers to the current issues surrounding Albania’s civil society and defining additional questions. The problems that persistently came up in the workshop, whatever the context, were those of EU membership perspectives, of persuasive corruption, of the lack of the rule of law, the need for reform, the question of Albanian nationalism and of economic development.

Tags: Civil Society, EU Accession, European Union, Reforms, Society

An increasing involvement of Member States in the EU Accession process is the new defining trait of Enlargement. Member states are focused in the progress of reforms and actively engaged in setting benchmarks, monitoring their progress and providing technical assistance on the ground. The latest Enlargement methodology published in February 2020 has officialized this trend. But while the EU Commission applies its chapter-based methodology, Member States have a tendency to focus on the progress of reforms, to include a high degree of political conditionality, and to apply the conditionality before the official opening of Accession Negotiations as in the case of Albania and North Macedonia.

This development brings to the fore the importance of the implementation of the acquis (vs. the adoption) and the functioning of reformed local institutions (vs. the institution building). Aiming to avoid any backsliding, EU has included the “Rule of Law” and “Functioning of Democratic Institutions” in the Cluster of Fundamentals, acknowledging the necessity of higher scrutiny during the implementation phase and on the good governance component.

The next challenge remains the design and implementation of the respective roadmap for the Rule of Law and for Functioning of Democratic Institutions. In that regards, Justice Reform in Albania provides a unique experience where Enlargement is intertwined with the country institutional reforms, and where EU Member States have taken a leading role in the scrutiny of the progress towards EU membership

Tags: European Union , Western Balkans , EU integration, Reforms

The aim of this track record table is to present the main conditions set by the EU Council during the past years regarding opening the negotiation talks with Albania. The information for the EU Council track record table has been drawn from the decision of the EU Council of Ministers of June 2018, of June 2019 and of October 2019, and of March 2020. CDI’s research team and its experts have done the classification and slightly modified the language to adapt to the table format.

This document is a product of the project “Preparing and Supporting Albania for EU Accession Process – ALBE”, implemented by Cooperation and Development Institute and supported by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Albania in Tirana.

Tags: European Union, Albania, EU accession , Reforms

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced direct consequences on the economy, political context, social climate and overall welfare of WB6 citizens. The SEE region is projected to enter a recession in 2020, whose magnitude depends on the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe. The main risk is that a prolonged pandemic, as well as a deeper recession in the EU, could make the unfolding economic crisis difficult to handle.

The incandescent political situation in the Balkan countries and their weak institutional governance will act as magnifying factors. Moreover the pandemic caused delays in the implementation pace of engaged reforms. In some cases it provided the spark that enflamed the political conflict. In general the democratic legitimacy of SEE6 institutions has worsened.

This Event Report was prepared in the framework of the Webinar “COVID-19 AND SEE6 REFORMS | how COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience of SEE6 institutions and the progress of reforms”, supported by Hanns Seidel Stiftung.

Tags:  SEE6, European Union, Enlargement, Covid19, Reforms

Harmonization of timelines, comprehensive and long-term planning, availability of resources, and choice of right partners, condition the relationship between Reforms and Enlargement.

While the reforms in SEE6 are advancing, gradually they are becoming an integral part of the conditionality checklists put by EU. The existing conditions are becoming more detailed, new ones focused on measurable impact are added, and their scope is enlarged to include “fundamentals” such as democratisation, human rights and the rule of law. Their monitoring and certification is extended in time. The role of Member States in the Enlargement has increased through the monitoring on the ground, reporting and intervention by means of assistance in selected sectors

The relationship between Reforms and Enlargement is complex. If not planned carefully, it may result in Catch22 situations. Dilemmas appear and choices must be made when harmonizing the high complexity, deep societal changes, enormous resources and long-time perspective that the reforms need, with the pace of progress that a formal, highly normative and meticulously-planned process such as Enlargement requires. The first Catch22 situation may result in the scenario where the Enlargement progress is conditioned by the impact of reforms, while the Reforms cannot progress without the support of the mechanisms and resources provided by the Enlargement.

The second Catch22 situation relates to the fact that one cannot reform captured institutions without a critical mass of local political will in support of those institutional changes. But often this means asking the illegitimate actors that profit from the system, to help bring down the very system they are profiting from.

Notwithstanding its imperfections, the Justice reform in Albania constitutes a huge advancement in the establishment of a functional democracy in a post-communist country. Being the first reform of such depth and scope in the SEE6, its represents a test case for exposing the systemic importance of the design phase, the need to embed any system change on the socio-cultural and economic base of the local society, the importance of planning in the long-term perspective and with the required resources, and the value of well selecting the reform partners to carry such changes.

From a Reform Frontrunner Albania now should aim to be an Enlargement frontrunner. The success of such an endeavor will test the working hypothesis of irreversibility of democratic reforms in the SEE6, as well as the suitability of EU instruments supporting those reforms.

Tags: Albania, EU accession , Reforms, Enlargement, Balkans, Rule of Law