While recognising Albania’s progress in the five key priorities for the opening of accession negotiations, the member states called on Tirana on Tuesday 13 December to pursue its work and consolidate positive outcomes, explains a declaration by the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The declaration states that the ministers will return to the subject of Albania when sufficient progress has been made.
This particularly applies to reform of the justice system, especially assessment of judges and prosecutors, explains the declaration, encouraging Albania to pursue deep-rooted and over-arching reform of the justice sector. Other priorities are reform of the civil service, human rights, tackling corruption and fighting organised crime. On the latter two priorities, Albania is invited to double its efforts to get tangible and sustainable results. The member states want economic reforms to continue.
The declaration ‘notes that consistent and constructive dialogue between the government and the opposition on EU-related reforms remains crucial to advance on the reform agenda,’ particularly electoral reform. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)