Brussels, 19/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 19 July, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn called on the Albanian parliament to adopt reform of its judicial system before the end of the week. The reform is needed for Albania to be able to open accession negotiations with the EU.
“An agreement on judicial reform is needed by the summer break at the latest”, Hahn told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, stating that time was needed to be able to judge the effects of how the law is transposed. The European Commission's progress report will be published in the autumn. “[Thursday] 21 July is the last possible date for finding a solution”, Hahn said, adding, however, that if it was not possible to have a decision within the Albanian parliament, there could be a “sort of referendum”, knowing that 90% of the Albanian population was in favour of such a reform. “If there is no reform, there will be a delay of at least 18 months”, he added, because 2017 is an election year in Albania. “This would weigh on the country's European perspective. It would weigh strongly”, he said.
However, adoption of the reform seems difficult. “The favourite word in the Balkans is 'almost'. We are almost there. But as soon as one problem is settled, another arises, and until now no solution has emerged”, Hahn regretted. One of the points which is apparently still causing a problem is the composition of the committee that will enable the professionalism of judges and prosecutors to be checked.
Hahn called on the European Parliament to send a strong signal for the Albanian parliament to find a solution. The MEPs who were present at this meeting with Hahn also underlined the importance of Albania's judicial reform. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)