EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 12.10.2022 SWD(2022) 332 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Albania 2022 Report Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2022 Communication on EU Enlargement policy



























{COM(2022) 528 final} - {SWD(2022) 333 final} - {SWD(2022) 334 final} - {SWD(2022) 335 final} - {SWD(2022) 336 final} - {SWD(2022) 337 final} - {SWD(2022) 338 final}



1.Introduction 1.1.Context 1.2.Summary of the report 2. Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process 2.1. Functioning of democratic institutions and Public Administration Reform 2.1.1 Democracy 2.1.2. Public Administration Reform 2.2. Rule of law and fundamental rights 2.2.1.Chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights 2.2.2.Chapter 24: Justice, freedom and security 2.3. Economic criteria 2.3.1. The existence of a functioning market economy 2.3.2. The capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union 2.4. Public procurement, statistics, financial control Chapter 5: Public procurement Chapter 18: Statistics Chapter 32: Financial control 3.Good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation

4.Ability to assume the obligations of membership Cluster 2: Internal Market Chapter 1: Free movement of goods Chapter 2: Freedom of movement of workers Chapter 3: Right of establishment and freedom to provide services Chapter 4: Free movement of capital Chapter 6: Company law Chapter 7: Intellectual property law Chapter 8: Competition policy Chapter 9: Financial services Chapter 28: Consumer and health protection Cluster 3: Competitiveness and inclusive growth Chapter 10: Digital transformation and media Chapter 16: Taxation Chapter 17: Economic and monetary policy Chapter 19: Social policy and employment Chapter 20: Enterprise and industrial policy Chapter 25: Science and research Chapter 26: Education and culture Chapter 29: Customs union

Cluster 4: The Green agenda and sustainable connectivity Chapter 14: Transport Chapter 15: Energy Chapter 21: Trans-European networks Chapter 27: Environment and climate change Cluster 5: Resources, agriculture and cohesion Chapter 11: Agriculture and rural development Chapter 12: Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy Chapter 13: Fisheries Chapter 22: Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments Chapter 33: Financial and budgetary provisions Cluster 6: External relations Chapter 30: External relations Chapter 31: Foreign, security and defence policy Annex I – Relations between the EU and Albania



1. Introduction 1.1. Context Albania has continued to implement the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the meetings of the joint bodies under the agreement took place.

Albania has continued to maintain overall focus on the EU reform agenda, despite the challenge of addressing the economic and social consequences of the triple shock of the 2019 earthquake, the pandemic and of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. It has continued to meet all the conditions set out in the Council Conclusions of March 2020 for the first Inter-governmental Conference . On 19 July, the Intergovernmental Conference on accession negotiations took place with Albania. The Commission immediately launched the screening process. Albania’s maintained its record of full alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy (CFSP). As a non-permanent member since January 2022, Albania has been actively engaged in the UN Security Council as a co-penholder of resolutions condemning the aggression, thus aligning with the EU position when co-sponsoring and voting on UN resolutions on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its humanitarian impact, and also when voting on the suspension of Russia in the Human Rights Council. Albania’s stance is a strong signal of its strategic choice of EU accession and of its role as a reliable partner. 1.2. Summary of the report As regards the political criteria, in the new legislature, resulting from the 2021 elections, which were held following the cross-party agreement of 5 June 2020 the elected members from the largest opposition parties took their seats in parliament. The parliament elected the new President of the Republic. Internal conflict within the largest opposition party (DP), affected parliamentary life. On EU oriented reforms, parliament passed a time-limited constitutional extension of the vetting bodies mandate and nine laws aimed at alignment with the EU acquis. The government maintained a focus on reforms related to the country’s EU path and reinforced its coordination structure for EU integration, but it needs to further advance the EU reform agenda, together with the opposition and all segments of society. The establishment of several government agencies around the Prime Minister’s Office, without a comprehensive steering framework and without a systematic attention to oversight and reporting lines, raises questions in relation to the standards of public administration. A new decentralisation strategy beyond 2022, remains to be adopted and upstream consultation at local level will be essential. Despite funding improvements, limited progress was made to implement the roadmap on creating an enabling environment for civil society. Albania is moderately prepared in the area of public administration reform. It made limited progress in strengthening line ministries’ capacity to implement regulatory impact assessments and hold public consultations. It started preparations for the salary reform and expanded the automated payroll system. Implementation of the 2015-2022 public administration reform and the 2014-2022 public financial management reform strategies continued. The IT systems for integrated planning are not yet fully functional. However, bodies subordinate to ministries (agencies) continued to be created without a comprehensive steering framework, systematic attention to oversight or clear reporting lines. They also further exacerbated the issue of tasks entrusted to staff hired under the Labour Code, instead of to civil servants. Provisions on merit-based recruitment in the civil service law remain to be fully implemented, especially for senior level positions. The number of provided online services continued to increase, but this also raises questions about equitable access for citizens with limited digital skills. Albania’s judicial system has reached a moderate level of preparation. Comprehensive justice reform continued, resulting in good progress overall. Two new judges were appointed to the Constitutional Court in March and September 2022, further improving the court’s ability to carry out its mandate. There was also progress with the High Court, which now has 15 sitting judges, enabling it to reduce the case backlog for the first time in six years, to start unifying the case law and to appoint judges to the Constitutional Court. Further appointments to the High Court are expected. However, long proceedings, a low clearance rate and a large case backlog continue to negatively impact the efficiency of the judicial system. To tackle these problems, a new judicial map was adopted following consultations. Additional efforts are still required to put it into effect, as well as to improve the case management system and the training system for magistrates. The temporary re-evaluation of all judges and prosecutors (the vetting process) has continued to advance steadily. Under the aegis of the European Commission, the International Monitoring Operation has continued to oversee the process independently. By 12 September, the vetting institutions had completed 554 first-instance cases. Around 64% of the vetting dossiers processed so far resulted in dismissals, resignations or the termination of mandate of vetted magistrates. The vetting institutions must continue to refer cases to the prosecution services where there are indications of criminal offences. The Specialised Structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK), comprising the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), continued its operations. After a budget increase in 2021, the SPO now has 17 prosecutors in place, the recruitment of eight financial investigators is underway and the NBI reached its full operational capacity of 60 investigators after a second round of recruitment. Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. It continued its efforts to build on its track record of investigation, prosecutions and convictions in the fight against corruption and delivered some results. These efforts need to continue. However, greater political will, further structured efforts, and adequate resources and skills remain necessary. The SPAK Court delivered several important final decisions on high-ranking state officials, including a former Minister of the Interior and a former Prosecutor General. Although the vetting of members of the judiciary is an administrative process, it continues to bring results in the fight against corruption within the judiciary. A new General Anti-Corruption Directorate was created in the Ministry of Justice. Overall, despite some progress, corruption remains an area of serious concern. Increasing the number of final convictions of high-level officials remains an important priority to further tackle a culture of impunity. The sectors that are most vulnerable to corruption require targeted risk assessment and dedicated measures. Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against organised crime. It made some progress in meeting last year’s recommendations. Strong and fruitful cooperation with EU Members States, Europol and Eurojust has led to tangible results. Albania continued to show commitment to counter the production and trafficking of cannabis. Good progress was made on the seizure and confiscation of assets related to organised crime. This effort must continue in the future. Efforts also need to continue to ensure increased prosecutions and final convictions, especially at high-level. Countering cybercrime, trafficking in human beings and money laundering remain areas in which additional results are needed. The phenomenon of child sexual abuse online remains a concern. The country progressed steadily in the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan to improve effectiveness in the field of anti-money laundering, but Albania remained on the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. Financial investigations need to accompany systematically criminal proceedings. Albania adopted a new national cross-sector counter-terrorism strategy and action plan in December 2020. On fundamental rights, Albania complies overall with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions on the protection of fundamental rights. Some progress was made in using alternatives to detentions and, in particular, in developing the probation service, which remains fully operational, including for juvenile offenders. Albania adopted a new lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) action plan, which includes measures to fight discrimination, improve access to services and approve the legal gender recognition law and a national action plan for equality, inclusion and participation of Roma and Egyptians. Enhanced efforts to consolidate property rights through the registration and digitalisation of cadastral data are needed and the sector remains prone to corruption, while the compensation process has stalled. On the protection of national minorities, Albania adopted a new piece of implementing legislation that creates a fund for civil society projects in support of minority rights. However, adoption of the remaining implementing legislation, including on freedom to self-identify as a member of a national minority and on the use of minority languages, is still pending. Preparations for the long awaited population and housing census continued, including with pilot censuses in minority population areas, however the census was postponed to 2023. Further actions need to be taken to strengthen data protection and align national legislation with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Albania has some level of preparation/is moderately prepared in the area of freedom of expression. No progress was made in the reporting period. The intersection of business and political interests continued to hamper media independence and the quality of journalism. Disinformation including smear campaigns are recurrent, especially in online media whose self-regulation needs to be ensured. The atmosphere of verbal attacks, smear campaigns and acts of intimidation against journalists has not improved. Any changes to the Media Law need to be in line with the Venice Commission opinion and must be submitted for consultation with media organisations. It remains important to ensure that the media have direct and transparent access to governmental institutions and their activities. The regulatory performance of the Audio-visual Regulatory Authority (AMA) needs to be improved and the independence and resources of the public service broadcaster should be strengthened. Albania adopted a new and better-budgeted national strategy on gender equality and continues its efforts to ensure adequate state funding to implement it at central and local level. Efforts are needed to ensure that all national strategies at central and local level are gender mainstreamed and spend budget in ways that take gender into account. On citizenship, Albania should refrain from developing an investors’ citizenship scheme (golden passports) as it would pose risks as regards security, money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing, corruption and infiltration by organised crime, and would be incompatible with the EU acquis. On migration, the legal framework on migration is largely aligned with the EU acquis but needs updating, and must provide a clear framework for managing and coordinating migration. The number of irregular migrants apprehended in Albania in 2021 decreased by about 15% compared with 2020. No progress was made in referrals to asylum procedure and the implementation of return procedures in line with the legal framework. Albania’s visa policy should be aligned with the EU one. The number of Albanian citizens lodging asylum requests in EU Member States remains lower than the peak of 2015, but increased sygnificantly in the summer of 2021, and thus still requires continuous and sustained efforts. Dialogue and cooperation with the countries most affected have continued, in addition to thorough border checks and awareness-raising on rights and obligations under the visa-free regime. Albania should keep addressing the phenomenon of unaccompanied minors. The Commission is monitoring the trend very closely in the framework of the post-visa liberalisation monitoring mechanism. On the economic criteria, Albania made good progress and is moderately prepared for developing a functioning market economy. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, the budget deficit and the public debt ratio were lower than expected, but Russia’s war against Ukraine caused price increases and lower trade. Fiscal space remains limited. Revenue-related reforms progressed, but investment expenditure remains weak. Frequent budget revisions weaken fiscal credibility. Inflation increased above target. Increased public service digitalisation, financial inclusion, and labour inspections benefitted the business environment and the formalisation of the economy, but the informal economy remains significant. Public consultation remains weak. Albania made some progress and is at some level of preparation to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU. Energy and transport infrastructure, digitalisation and education improved, but entrepreneurial and technological know-how remain low, with unmet investment needs in human and physical capital, skills and education gaps, and low R&D spending. Low export diversification increases vulnerability to external shocks. Regional integration and exports increased but remained below potential. On public procurement, Albania is moderately prepared, the country has made good progress, in particular by adopting further implementing legislation and launching an electronic appeals and complaint system. On statistics, Albania is also moderately prepared, it made limited progress on aligning with ESA 2010 standards, faster publication and transmission to Eurostat, but the Population Census Law has been further postponed. Albania is moderately prepared in most areas on financial control, where the country made some progress, notably on public internal financial control and internal audit. Albania is moderately prepared in most of the areas of the internal market, namely the free movement of goods, services and capital, company law and competition policy. The same applies to financial services and to intellectual property law, both chapters where the country has made good progress thanks to the reduction of non-performing loans and to the adoption of legislation on copyright and on industrial property rights. Albania has made some progress with the adoption of a new law on foreigners as well as by fulfiling some of the recommendations of the Moneyval report. However, in the area of competition policy, the State aid authority needs to be made independent and sufficiently resourced. Preparations are at an early stage on consumer and health protection, where the country made limited progress. Albania has achieved a moderate level of preparation in many areas linked to competitiveness and inclusive growth, namely digital transformation and media, taxation, economic and monetary policy, enterprise and industrial policy, education and culture. The same goes for the customs union, where the pan-Euro-Mediterranean area rules of origin are applied, and bodies involved in the fight against smuggling and counterfeit goods are strengthened and cooperate better. The adoption of a tax and criminal amnesty against the advice of the EU and Moneyval could jeopardise progress in this area as well as in the fight against money laundering. Albania has some level of preparation in social policy and employment, and research and innovation. Albania has made some progress in education in particular with the adoption of the new National Strategy for Education and Action Plan 2021-2026, but progress was limited on the economic and monetary policy. As regards Green Agenda and sustainable connectivity, Albania is moderately prepared on energy, environment and climate change. It has some level of preparation in the areas of transport policy and of trans-European networks and some progress was achieved in developing transport and energy networks. It made progress on civil protection and is ready to join the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. The country has made limited progress in the other areas covered by this cluster and ongoing efforts to address issues with vessels Flag State Control and to align legislation need to continue. Limited progress was made in further aligning the EU acquis on water management, chemicals and environmental crime. The impact of strategic investments on biodiversity and nature protection requires attention. This cluster and the reforms concerned have significant links to Albania’s Economic Reform Programme, the Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans endorsed by Albania in December 2020.

Albania has some level of preparation in most areas linked to resources, agriculture and cohesion, namely agriculture and rural development, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, fisheries, and financial and budgetary provisions. It is moderately prepared as regards regional policy and coordination of structural instruments. Albania has made some progress in agriculture and rural development, notably with the establishment of a farm register and better administrative capacity for rural development. Good progress was observed on fisheries, with the continued operationalisation of the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and allocation of human resources to monitor and report on the activities of fishing vessels. Albania as a contracting party of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) is fully implementing fishing effort recommendations. Some progress was made on financial and budgetary provisions. Progress was however limited on food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, on regional policy and coordination of structural instruments. In this respect, inter-agency coordination for pre-accession assistance needs improvement, and issues need to be addressed as regards strategic planning, implementation and monitoring capacity of infrastructure projects under the Economic and Investment Plan. Albania has reached a good level of preparation as regards external relations, foreign security and defence. On the external relations chapter of negotiations, Albania made some progress as it continued alignment of legislation in the field of dual use goods and to implement CEFTA additional protocols. As regards the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, Albania maintained full alignment with all relevant EU decisions and declarations, including with the EU restrictive measures following Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. As a non-permanent member since January 2022, Albania has been actively engaged in the UN Security Council in promoting and defending the rules-based international order. 2. Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process 2.1. Functioning of democratic institutions and Public Administration Reform 2.1.1 Democracy In the new Assembly, resulting from the 2021 general elections, which were held following the cross-party agreement of 5 June 2020, the elected members from the largest opposition parties to parliament took their seats in Parliament. With the gradual improvement of the pandemic situation, parliament slowly returned to in-person meetings. As regards EU-related reforms, the Assembly reached cross-party consensus on constitutional amendments to extend the term of the judicial vetting bodies. The Assembly also elected the new President with the votes of the majority. The deep division within the largest opposition Democratic Party, dominated the political environment and has hampered legislative work, such as furthering electoral reform. Elections On February 2022, the Parliament decided to set up an ad hoc parliamentary committee on electoral reform, which is meant to follow-up on OSCE/ODIHR recommendations for the April 2021 elections and had a term of six months. The committee was constituted on 17 June. At the expiry of its term in August 2022, it had only held its constitutive meeting. During the reporting period, the Constitutional Court ruled against a provision of the Electoral Code according to which electoral subjects need to pass a national threshold of 1% in order to enter parliament, arguing that it discriminates against independent candidates. Earlier, the Constitutional Court had ruled to abrogate the provision related to the distribution of parliamentary seats in view of the preferential vote. The impending electoral reform will need to address these decisions. In line with ODIHR recommendations, the Central Election Commission has continued efforts to strengthen its oversight role over campaign financing. In addition, the CEC has initiated high-level discussions on the implementation of out-of-country vote. On 6 March 2022, Albania held by-elections in six municipalities. The President of the Republic decreed by-elections on 20 January, after a ruling of the Constitutional Court on the validity of the 2019 local elections. Vacancies were created in the municipalities of Shkoder, Vore and Lushnje after the mayors were discharged, in application of the law on the integrity of elected officials. In Durres and Diber the mayors had resigned, and in Rrogozhine the mayor had passed away. Eleven political parties registered to take part in the by-elections, fielding 19 candidates, out of which three were women. Electronic voting and counting was piloted in one municipality and biometric identification of voters was implemented in all polling stations. The ruling Socialist Party won five municipalities, while a coalition of two opposition parties won the remaining one. Two out of six mayors are women. No electoral subject contested the results. The newly elected mayors will be in office for nearly one year, as regularly scheduled local elections are expected to be held in 2023. Parliament The new Parliament was constituted on 10 September 2021, following the 25 April 2021 legislative elections. In these elections, preferential voting was implemented for the first time and three MPs were elected through this mechanism. Additionally, three party leaders won mandates in two constituencies, following a provision of the Electoral Code allowing party chairs to run in multiple districts. The rule has been criticised by OSCE/ODIHR in their final report on the April 2021 elections. Out of 140 Members of Parliament, 50 are women (35%) and 47% of all MPs are elected for the first time. Thirty-three MPs are under 40 years old. In the new legislature, the elected MPs from the largest opposition parties took their seats in contrast with the relinquishing of mandates that took place in 2019. Internal conflict within the largest opposition party (DP) affected parliamentary life, stalling notably the work on electoral reform. This has also weakened the role of the Parliament in exercising its main constitutional functions. Still, the Parliament found the necessary wide basis to pass a time-limited constitutional extension of the mandate of the vetting bodies. Important committees continue to be chaired by opposition MPs. Over the reporting period, the opposition sought the setting up of three inquiry committees, with two of them being approved. Out of these two, the one dealing with the incinerators contracts brought its work to completion. Concerning its oversight function, MPs filed 21 requests for interpellations, out of which four with the Prime Minister who nonetheless did not attend in person. The parliamentary oversight of the work of independent institutions remains limited to the consideration of their annual reports. Higher ethical standards in Assembly proceedings are needed to foster more constructive political dialogue between opposition and majority. As regards Parliament’s role in the EU integration process, 9 of the laws passed in Parliament were aimed at alignment with the EU acquis. The National Council for European Integration has made efforts to further consolidate its role in EU integration issues. With the improvement of the pandemic situation, the Parliament resumed meetings in person. Parliamentary proceedings continued to be livestreamed on social media. Under the new legislature, the Parliament has increased its efforts towards more transparency by offering more statistical data on parliamentary activity. Parliament held consultations with civil society and media on transparency standards, which need to be adopted. However, the publication of parliamentary documentation, such as minutes of plenary sessions and committee meetings, should be more timely, and more user friendly. Public consultation with civil society and interest groups remained formal.

On 4 June 2022, Parliament elected Mr Bajram Begaj, former Chief of Defence, as the new President of the Republic, without the support of the opposition, who refused to vote. Mr Begaj, the sole candidate, was elected on the fourth round by a simple majority vote, after the first three rounds requiring a qualified majority of 3/5 of the MPs failed. Shortly before the Assembly vote, the incumbent President released Mr Begaj from the Armed Forces. Parliament also elected the incumbent Governor of the Bank of Albania for a second term, filled vacancies in the Audio-visual Media Authority (AMA) and in the steering board of the National Broadcaster despite considerable delays. Hearing sessions were held with the candidates for the position of the Ombudsperson but the vote was postponed until after the reporting period. Parliament also elected the new chair of the Competition Authority, without conducting a hearing session with the candidate. Governance The Albanian government has continued to maintain overall focus on reforms on the country’s EU path, despite the challenge of addressing the economic and social consequences of the triple shock of the 2019 earthquake, the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The government needs to continue, through its policy priorities and its communication, to focus firmly on advancing the EU reform agenda, together with the opposition and all segments of society. When it comes to preparations for accession negotiations, there is a need to enhance communication, coordination, and expertise within the administration as well as EU compatibility checks of all draft legislation. The establishment or reinforcement of several government agencies around the Prime Minister’s Office (Agency for co-governance, Agency for Media and Information, Agency for Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination - SASPAC) without a comprehensive steering framework and without a systematic attention to oversight and reporting lines, raises questions in relation to the effective coordination and service delivery of public administration bodies. Following the first Intergovernmental Conference on accession negotiations of July 2022, the government appointed a new Chief Negotiator, at Minister of State level and with increased resources. In the context of accession negotiations, there is a need to achieve sound coordination among subordinated bodies and line ministries, enhance capacities of agencies working towards EU integration and to ensure the alignment of the National Plan for European Integration with sectoral strategies. The EU integration structures within the government had already been substantially modified in October 2021, following the decision to set up a new agency for donor coordination, the State Agency for Strategic Programming and Assistance Coordination (SASPAC). The head of this new agency took over the role of National IPA Coordinator, a function hitherto directly fulfilled by the previous Chief Negotiator for Accession of Albania to the EU. Under the new set up, the political steer, the strategic planning and the coordination of EU-related matters are shared among the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Minister of State and Chief Negotiator, and SASPAC. As a new body, SASPAC needs to ensure a more systematic coordination on EU integration and EU assistance with IPA Units, the Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU), and local government units. Strong cooperation as well as expertise and among responsible national bodies should be ensured to facilitate the successful implementation of the IPA programmes, including IPARD. In 2021, progress was made in monitoring the execution of the National Plan for European Integration and the new plan for 2022-2024 was adopted in February 2022 and is being monitored on a weekly basis. In May 2022, the government decided to close all the front offices delivering national administrative services at local level and decided to move towards 100% online services at short notice. The rapid shift has raised, however, questions in terms of quality and accessibility in the transition. The territorial administrative reform needs to be further consolidated as part of the wider decentralisation agenda. During the reporting period, the annual monitoring report for the year 2020 on the implementation of the decentralisation and local governance strategy has been issued. A systemic monitoring and the related mechanisms need to be ensured. The new decentralisation strategy beyond 2022, remains to be adopted. Consultation at local level, during its elaboration, will be essential for the strategy to capture and address the priority needs. In February 2022, the Parliament decided to set up an ad hoc committee on the territorial and administrative divisions in the country, the term of which ran until 30 September. Local government units (LGUs) still lack sufficient financial resources and administrative capacity to exercise their greater policy making powers effectively. Women representation in local government continues to require improvement. The LGUs’ fiscal autonomy remains at risk, as most of their budget is dependent on national transfers. The delivery of quality public services at local level remains limited. The financial situation of municipalities has been made ever more complicated by the economic shocks, with further shrinking own resources available to LGUs. Implementation of the Civil Service Law remains to be improved at the local level. Temporary employment contracts for civil service positions, although decreasing, continue to be rather frequent in the LGUs. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, municipalities have encouraged public participation in their decision-making, by organising online Council meetings open to the public and other innovative means. However, the institutional framework for effective and inclusive participation needs further strengthening. On transparency, some improvement has been noted, as all municipalities are now publishing online their Council’s decisions. As regards the transparency programme to be adopted by each municipality, shortcomings have been identified regarding the publication of mandatory information in its rubrics. The Consultative Council continues to operate as the main forum for institutional dialogue and coordination between central and local governments. The network of EU local coordinators has strengthened the LGUs’ involvement in the EU accession process. However, the frequent staff turnover in the EU municipal units endangers their ability to perform. Co- and pre-financing issues persist at local level, despite the creation of a fund of 200 million Albanian LEK in the state budget for 2022. Complex procedures for opening dedicated bank accounts as well as receive VAT refund also represent serious obstacles to Albanian municipalities accessing funding from the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA). On territorial planning, the need to revise local plans to account in particular for civil protection elements remains. Coordination of the national sectoral strategies with local plans is weak. Civil society The implementation of the new Law on registration of Non-Profit Organisations adopted in June 2021 has not started yet. The High Judicial Council received a budget allocation to procure the electronic register of Non-Profit Organisations and concluded a contract for its implementation in May 2022. There has been no progress in the implementation of the roadmap on an enabling environment for civil society, notably as regards the law on voluntarism. The institutionalised cooperation between civil society and the Government still needs to be strengthened to ensure meaningful participation of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in decision-making processes, including in the context of the EU accession negotiations. Progress, albeit limited, has been made in the field of VAT refund. An empowered civil society is a key component of any democratic system and continues to be recognised as such by the State institutions. Albania’s legal and regulatory framework on the right to freedom of assembly and association is generally in line with international standards. Restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic that brought limitations to the freedom of assembly were waived in early 2022. The new Law on Registration of Non-Profit Organisations adopted in June 2021 is expected to ease the registration process and enhance transparency, but its implementation has not started yet. It also aims at fulfilling the FATF Action Plan (see Chapter 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security). The establishment of a national electronic register under the responsibility of the High Judicial Council, foreseen under the new law, is due by end of 2023.The High Judicial Council has now received a budget allocation to procure the electronic register and concluded a contract for its implementation in May. In the meantime, CSOs continue to register as per the old law of 2001 and its lengthy registration process. There has been no progress in the implementation of the roadmap on an enabling environment for civil society. It remains strongly dependent on donor support. Additional efforts and resources are required to advance its implementation. No progress has been made regarding the law on voluntarism listed as one issue to be addressed under the roadmap. The monitoring mechanism of the roadmap is not fully functioning. While the 2014 Law on public consultation, laying down the procedural norms for transparency and public participation in decision-making, is generally in line with European standards, consultations often remain formal rather than meaningful exercises. In addition, the scope of the law still needs to be extended to government decisions (see also Public Administration reform).

The ability of the National Council for Civil Society to voice priorities of CSOs in policy-making processes remains weak. The Law on the National Council has still not been amended to reflect changes in ministerial portfolios and representation in the Council, and to improve its functioning. The Agency for the Support of Civil Society remains the main public body providing financial support for civil society. Its budget is now back at pre-COVID levels, but public funding remains insufficient to sustain CSOs’ activities, in particular in social services. Limited progress has been made in the field of VAT refund, with the implementation of the instructions on VAT reimbursement for CSO beneficiaries of EU funding and other donor grants. There is now evidence of the first cases of successful VAT refund. However, the process remains lengthy and cumbersome. Improvements are needed for a more efficient implementation of VAT reimbursement. There is still no progress as regards tax incentives for corporate donations as these do not promote company donations to CSOs and as there are no tax incentives for individual donations. 2.1.2. Public Administration Reform Albania remains moderately prepared in the area of public administration reform. It made limited progress in delivering on last year’s recommendations. Capacities for public consultations and regulatory impact assessments were strengthened, preparations for the salary reform started, and the automated payroll system was expanded. Implementation of the 2015-2022 public administration reform and the 2014-2022 public financial management reform strategies continued. However, bodies subordinate to ministries (agencies) continued to be created without a comprehensive steering framework, systematic attention to oversight or clear reporting lines. They also further exacerbated the issue of tasks entrusted to staff hired under the Labour Code, instead of to civil servants. Provisions on merit-based recruitment in the civil service law remain to be fully implemented, especially for senior level positions. Albania has rolled out a comprehensive platform for digital services – a rapid shift towards 100% online services took effect on 1 May 2022. However, it needs to ensure equitable access for citizens with limited digital skills. The Commission’s 2021 recommendations remain mostly valid. In the coming year, Albania should, in particular: ®increase the capacities for policy planning and monitoring and ensure that the central administration’s supervisory and subordinated bodies are well-structured and assigned clear roles; ®prepare new public administration and public financial management strategies in line with relevant sectoral strategies, while at the same time review the effectiveness of the current monitoring structures; ®effectively implement the provisions on merit-based recruitment in the civil service law at all levels, especially at senior level; reform the salary system for civil servants and further expand the automation of the payroll system. Strategic framework for public administration reform Throughout 2021, the government continued to monitor the implementation of the 2015-2022 public administration reform strategy and the 2014-2022 public financial management reform strategy. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, the Albanian institutions made substantial efforts to maintain a good implementation of the public administration reform strategy. Progress has been achieved in results-oriented monitoring, including performance analysis. However, the implementation of the public administration reforms requires a continued political steer. Financial sustainability needs to be improved through better reviewing of overall financial resources, as currently, the reform implementation depends heavily on funding from external donors. Policy development and coordination The legal basis and the institutional set-up for coherent policy making system are partially in place. The quality of performance and the regularity of the integrated policy management groups mechanism vary across sectors. Albania should strengthen its efforts to improve evidence-based policy making by increasing the administrative capacities of line ministries in policy planning, monitoring, and data collection. The three pillars of the integrated planning system must become fully functional and the user training for civil servants must continue, in particular on data quality and indicators. The National Strategy for Development and Integration, which is the top reference document for the planning system, expired in 2020. The new strategy, covering the period up to 2028, needs to be drafted and adopted. The authorities need to improve coherence between policy planning and budgeting by making full use of the Integrated Planning System Information System. The newly created state Agency for Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination has the mandate to enhance coordination. However, the roles and responsibilities of the Agency and the Department for Policies and Good Governance in the Prime Minster’s Office need to be clarified. Further efforts are needed to improve the administrative capacity of line ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office. (See Chapter 32 - Financial control). The Prime Minister’s Office rulebook still needs to be adopted. The administration needs to further strengthen its capacity in inclusive and evidence-based policy and legislative development. Progress was achieved in increasing the use and quality of regulatory impact assessments for legislative proposals and trainings on these issues were delivered across the administration. The government needs to continue its efforts to improve regulatory impact assessments. On public consultation, the electronic web-portal is operational, and the regulatory framework has been improved. The usage of the electronic register continued, but the share of legal acts undergoing public consultation and usage of the electronic register decreased in 2021 to 65.8% from 79.6% in the previous year. The quality control of public consultations needs to be strengthened to focus on content rather than on process. Public scrutiny of government work needs to be further improved. Parliamentary oversight of government performance, including sub-ordinated agencies, needs to be strengthened. Regulatory and institutional monitoring, and the reporting framework for government performance continue to be fragmented. Communication to citizens about ongoing reforms efforts needs to be improved. The harmonisation of reporting practice requires the Integrated Planning System Information System to be fully rolled out. Public financial management

The Ministry of Finance and Economy is in charge of the public financial management reform. Several posts, including at management level, remain unfilled in the Ministry. The 2019-2022 public financial management strategy is expiring, and the government needs to draft and adopt a new programme. The new reform programme should be developed following a detailed analysis of the implementation of the current strategy and after conducting extensive public consultations. The finalisation and publication of the 2021 report on public financial management monitoring report was delayed. During the reporting period, the 2022-2024 medium-term budget programme was adopted, based on the newly developed Albanian financial management information system. The 2022 budget and the execution of the 2021 budget were in line with the revised organic budget law. Integration of the e-procurement and treasury system made progress on improving commitment checks. Consultation on the medium-term revenue strategy was launched in January 2022, but the final version has not yet been produced. Budget transparency remains satisfactory with the publication of all key budget documents, which allows for sufficient public debate. More timely publication of the budget execution reports and the audit report, in particular reporting on arrears, is needed. Albania further strengthened its capacity for gender-responsive budgeting, based on a legal obligation to this effect in the central and local government finance management cycle. Public service and human resources management Progress on merit-based recruitment, promotion and dismissal needs to be consolidated by applying consistent standards across the public administration. Greater legal compliance is needed in recruitment procedures. The merit principle needs to be complied with both for senior and entry level positions. Across the public administration, job descriptions are not yet fully in line with the categories set out in the civil service law. In 2021, the number of dismissals of civil servants decreased to 346 from 619 in 2020 and the authorities explained that these were in compliance with the civil service law. The backlog in implementing court decisions confirming dismissal of civil servants as unlawful has been further reduced during the reporting period. A system to monitor and follow up the final court decisions has been created and is managed by the Department of Public Administration. The human resources management information system continues to be filled with the necessary data, although at a slow pace. It does not yet cover the entire public sector, does not include completely up-to-date data on civil servants and it still needs to be extended to the local level. The data it contains on civil servants needs to be up-to-date. The government has managed to put in place measures to create a coordination mechanism between central and local level to monitor and evaluate human resource management. The remuneration system is based on a job classification system that needs to be revised including with a broad public consultation. The lack of a salary policy based on clear criteria for pay supplements and salary increases weakens the fairness and coherence of the system. The automation of the payroll system through the human resources management information system needs to be extended to the whole public sector. The Albanian School of Public Administration continued to adapt its training programmes for professional development in line with the COVID-19 measures. Compared to the previous year, it increased the thematic scope and the number of trained public servants. However, the lack of infrastructure hinders its capacity to deliver online courses. A training cycle on quality management has not yet been set up. The administrative skills of local-level civil servants need to be improved. Accountability of the administration The legal framework for the organisation of the central administration does not provide a comprehensive and coherent framework to ensure that supervisory and subordinated bodies are held accountable. Agencies such as the State Agency for Strategic Programming and Assistance Coordination, the Agency for Media and Information and the Co-Governance Agency need to be better structured and assigned clear roles. The law on the organisation and functioning of the state administration does not set a clear typology and criteria for the creation of subordinated bodies. Additionally, policy-making institutions do not always monitor policy implementation by their subordinated agencies and these agencies do not always report on their performance. Legal changes are needed to improve how policy-making functions are defined, including setting requirements for planning and performance reporting by subordinated bodies and supervisory ministries. State administration workflow and decision-making processes should be more transparent. The legal framework for ensuring managerial accountability needs to be improved. The citizens’ right to good administration needs to be strengthened. The implementation rate of the Ombudsman’s recommendations fell to 50% in 2021, from 55% in 2020 and 62% in 2019. The Assembly should strengthen its cooperation with the Ombudsman and address the problem of the lack of responsiveness of public administration bodies. In December 2021, a public consultation was launched to amend the law on the right to information, which regulates citizens’ right to access public information. An increasing number of public authorities have adopted and published transparency programmes (300 in 2021, up from 239 in 2020). A legislative framework is in place for the right to administrative justice. The capacity of the administrative court system and the appeal panels to deal with cases is limited, which led to an increased backlog in 2021. Legislation is in place to protect the right of citizens to seek compensation and is applied in practice in judicial cases. However, there is no mechanism for regular monitoring and analysis of the administrative and judicial practice in such matters, and the government does not gather data on payments made in public liability cases and reasons for them. In November 2021, Parliament adopted the law on co-governance, thus giving substantial powers to the Agency for Dialogue and Co-governance, which previously administered an online platform for citizens’ complaint. The agency reports directly to the Prime Minister. It can conduct inspections on public institutions, based on citizens’ complaints, and apply administrative sanctions or propose disciplinary measures. This reform has raised concerns about (i) the agency’s impact on policy planning and coordination, (ii) the impact of the new law on the code of administrative procedures, (iii) the agency’s impact on the separation of powers between the executive branch and the judiciary. Service delivery to citizens and businesses The institutional and legal frameworks for public service delivery are in place to ensure a user-oriented public administration. In 2021, the number of one-stop-shops and e-services, even if at different levels of automation, continued to increase, and information to citizens on public services became more accessible. The new e-government law is in public consultation. On 1 May 2022, the government decided at short notice to close the ‘front desks’ delivering national administrative services at local level, with a view to moving towards putting 100% of service online, with the declared aim of improving service delivery and reducing corruption. The rapid shift has raised questions about the quality and accessibility of service to citizens with limited digital skills. Some business associations have reported technical difficulties, in particular when submitting mandatory files. The Code of Administrative Procedures provides the legislative framework for simplifying administrative procedures in line with international standards. The process of legal harmonisation with the Code must be completed.

2.2. Rule of law and fundamental rights 2.2.1. Chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights The EU’s founding values include the rule of law and respect for human rights. An effective (independent, high quality and efficient) judicial system and an effective fight against corruption are of paramount importance, as is the respect for fundamental rights in law and in practice. Albania has some level of preparation/is moderately prepared in implementing the EU acquis and European standards in the area of the judiciary and fundamental rights. Good progress was made, in particular through continued implementation and consolidation of the comprehensive justice reform. There have been two additional appointments to the Constitutional Court, which further enhance the court’s ability to perform its mandate. The High Court has increased its efficiency with the appointment of six additional judges, and has started to reduce its backlog of cases and to unify the case-law. The vetting process for judicial appointments has continued to advance steadily. Operational efforts to fight corruption are delivering some results, including criminal procedings and financial investigations in several high-level cases, which resulted in a few final convictions. These efforts need to continue and intensify. On fundamental rights, there was some progress in a number of areas, but efforts to implement policies should continue. Faster progress should be made on the first registration of properties and other transitional processes. Albania has adopted another piece of implementing legislation related to the 2017 framework law on the protection of persons belonging to national minorities; the remaining implementing legislation needs to be adopted not least to ensure self-identification. On personal data protection, Albania should take measures to prevent the recurrence of massive breaches of personal data and accelerate efforts to align its legislation with the EU acquis on personal data protection. Functioning of the judiciary Albania is moderately prepared on the functioning of the judiciary. Good progress was made, with the continued implementation of justice reform. A time-limited constitutional extension of the term in office of the vetting bodies was adopted, thus ensuring uninterrupted and consistent continuation of the vetting process. To date, 64 % of the vetting dossiers processed have resulted in dismissals, resignations or termination of mandate of vetted magistrates. Following new appointments of judges, the High Court has reduced the backlog of cases for the first time in six years and reached the quorum to make appointments of judges to the Constitutional Court, proceeding with one such appointment. The Specialised Structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) Court delivered several important decisions pertaining to high-level officials, including a former Minister of the Interior and a former Prosecutor General. Limited progress was made on the recommendation to improve the case management system and the legal training system, which has been pending for some years. The efficiency of the judicial system is negatively affected by the length of proceedings, the low clearance rate and the large backlog of cases. Recommendations for the coming year: ®further advance the process of re-evaluating judges and prosecutors (vetting) and, where possible, increase the pace of procedures with due regards to the quality of the process; ®consolidate efforts to enhance the efficiency and transparency of all courts and prosecution offices, including through fast and decisive action to set up a modern Integrated Case Management System and with the rollout of a solid implementation plan for the new judicial map; ®continue to consolidate the capacity of the judicial system and its self-governing institutions, while making quality and efficiency improvements at the School of Magistrates. The comprehensive transitional re-evaluation (vetting) of all judges and prosecutors continued to advance at a steady pace. The International Monitoring Operation, deployed under the aegis of the European Commission, continued to exercise independent oversight. By 12 September 2022 the vetting institutions had completed 554 vetting cases at first instance. Of these, 405 decisions are final. Overall, around 64 % of the vetting dossiers processed so far have resulted in dismissal or termination due to resignations by the assessees or reaching the retirement age. The outcome of decisions of the first‑instance vetting body, the Independent Qualifications Commission and, where applicable, of Appeal Chamber decisions, is as follows: 228 dismissals, mostly for issues relating to unjustified assets; 195 confirmations in office; 128 decisions on termination of the vetting proceedings; and three decisions to suspend the assessees. The Independent Qualification Commission has formally initiated investigations in all pending vetting cases. The International Monitoring Operation has continued to perform its oversight role in the vetting process and has issued opinions on first-instance assessments, including 23 recommendations for appeal, and five dissenting or concurring opinions after the final decisions. The vetting institution of Public Commissioners has followed all recommendations for appeal. In the same period, the Appeal Chamber delivered 157 decisions and registered 291 cases. Of these, 67 were appealed by the Public Commissioner, 227 by the assessees themselves, and three cases were appealed by both the assessees and the Public Commissioner. Overall, there are 134 pending vetting cases. However, 6048 cases were registered and treated based on information from the public. The vetting institutions are expected to continue to refer cases to prosecution services where there are indications of criminal offences. By 12 September 2022, 30 files had been submitted to the Special Prosecution Office, including 12 cases involving former judges of the High Court and the Constitutional Court. Of these, two investigations have resulted in convictions, the remaining being either pending or were discontinued. Strategic documents The new cross-sector justice strategy and its action plan for 2021-2025 have been adopted by the Council of Ministers and need to be implemented effectively. The Ministry of Justice has strengthened its internal capacities to collect and report data. The Sectoral Steering Committee for Justice Reform operates at the technical level through two thematic groups. Further improvement of coordination between the justice institutions remains necessary. New specialised bodies The Specialised Structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK), comprising the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is now operational. In a context of workload increase, staff shortages has been one of SPAK’s main challenges. The SPO has 17 prosecutors in place, and a budget allowing for 20. The recruitment of eight financial investigators is underway and a media coordinator took up duty in September 2021. Following a second round of recruitment, the NBI reached its full operational capacity of 60 investigators in June. As provided by law, an International Commission consisiting of two criminal justice experts nominated by the EU and two by the US government, continued to monitor the development of the NBI. Management bodies The judiciary self-governing institutions have continued to fully exercise their functions. The High Judicial Council (HJC) and High Prosecutorial Council (HPC) partially renewed their membership, including both magistrates and lay members. Parliament and lay member appointing bodies should ensure greater competition and transparency in the appointment process. Two vacancies for non-magistrate members remain open at the HPC.

The HJC advanced with the appointments of judges to vacant positions and continued to approve a significant amount of pieces of secondary legislation regulating the activities of the judicial system and courts. The HPC has continued to promote district prosecutors. The HPC needs to ensure the implementation of rules for the promotion and evaluation of prosecutors. The HPC should ensure close cooperation with the General Prosecution Office in view of correctly implementing the legal framework in place. This increased cooperation would be of particular importance when evaluating and promoting prosecutors. Independence and impartiality The 2016 justice reform created the legal and institutional framework to guarantee the independence and impartiality of magistrates. The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed by the Constitution. However, concerns continued to be raised about alleged attempts to interfere and exert pressure on the judicial system. The training of magistrates should remain focused on integrity and judge-craft. More work to raise awareness on integrity and judicial independence should take place at all levels. Legal provisions are in place to guarantee independent procedures to appoint, promote, evaluate and dismiss judges and prosecutors, and to ensure that is possible to appeal all related decisions. The remuneration of judges and prosecutors meets the highest public salary standards for the country. However, the lack of transparent procedures to promote prosecutors remains a priority issue. The rollout of a modern Integrated Case Management System has been pending for many years and is necessary to improve the efficiency and transparency of the justice system. Since several courts have very few judges and the Integrated Case Management System is not used, the random allocation of cases is not widely applied. It is a criminal offence to exert undue influence over a judge or a prosecutor. However, in practice there have been no reports from judges or prosecutors of such attempts. No measure has been taken against public officials or politicians waging accusations against magistrates, but to address them the independent institutions governing the justice system have proactively reacted against such public accusations, classifying them as undue influence and pressure. Accountability The High Justice Inspector (HJI) continued to be fully operational, initiating and conducting disciplinary investigations against magistrates. The HJI continued to be understaffed and could not reduce the accumulated backlog, despite the allocation of additional staff and premises, and an increased budget. The recruitment of additional inspectors and improvement of HJS’s capacity remain necessary. During the reporting period, the HJI received 1 257 complaints. It processed 4 124 complaints in total and started 22 investigations, of which 17 resulted in disciplinary proceedings. The HJC budget has been gradually increased, and all minutes of meetings and decisions are being made public. Outreach to the media and distribution of materials to the public need to be stepped up to proactively inform people about the HJC’s activities. The HJC made progress in evaluating judges at all levels. Evaluations are now conducted regularly, and the backlog of evaluations is being steadily reduced. The HJC suspended one judge based on HJI investigations. The HPC should swiftly finalise all the necessary secondary legislation for evaluating prosecutors. Most HJI requests to dismiss prosecutors were rejected by the HPC in 2021. Close cooperation between the institutions governing the justice system should continue. The HJC and HPC held their first joint meeting during the reporting period. Coordination on a regular basis is needed. The HJC adopted three strategic documents on the administrative investigation of whistle-blowers and the review of corruption cases within the HJC. The HPC, HJC and HJI regularly published their decisions and the minutes of their plenary meetings. Professionalism and competence The system for recruiting, selecting, appointing, transferring, and dismissing judges and prosecutors is managed exclusively by the self-governing institutions of the judiciary. Continued implementation of judicial reform further reduced political influence throughout the appointment process, thus ensuring a merit-based career system. Two new judges were appointed to the Constitutional Court in March and September 2022, bringing the current number of judges in office to eight out of nine, five of whom are women. The appointment process for the remaining Constitutional Court position is underway. The legal provisions in place define the criteria to become a judge of the Constitutional Court. The evaluation process, including the ranking of candidates needs to be more transparent and take into account the Venice Commission recommendations. The number of judges at the High Court increased to 15, with six new judges appointed during the reporting period. The High Court can now work in three chambers and adjudicate all categories of cases. It also reached the quorum to make appointments to the Constitutional Court. It started to reduce its backlog of cases. However, this backlog remains very high, and more judges and legal advisers are necessary to help reduce it further. Quality of justice The quality of the initial and continuous training at the School of Magistrates (SoM) requires improvement and a further increase in the cohorts of students, and therefore graduates, is needed in light of the continued dismissals arising from the vetting process. The HPC and HJC, in cooperation with the SoM, approved the training calendar for the 2022-2023 academic year. For the 2022-2023 academic year, the intake of new students only increased by 20 people compared with the previous term, which seems insufficient in the light of the number of judicial vacancies. The SoM needs to intensify its efforts to strengthen its academic staff and to ensure competitive and transparent recruitment procedures. The periodic evaluation of judges and prosecutors takes into account the continuous training of judges and prosecutors and includes assessments provided by the SoM. The continuous training should improve its methodology and focus more on daily needs as well as on case studies for judges and prosecutors. On the other hand, the initial training requires a substantial revision, consistent with the objective of training specialised judges in various field of law, while enhancing its practical focus, notably with courses on legal writing and reasoning. The total budget allocated to training initiatives at the SoM in 2021 amounted to EUR 2,101,845, an increase of 27% compared with the previous year. The SoM needs to coordinate assistance from donors and CSOs more proactively. As an observer of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) it should benefit more proactively from the EJTNs activities and the expertise within the network. Albania had 307 full-time judge positions (10.8 per 100,000 inhabitants) and 300 full-time prosecutor positions (10.5 per 100,000 inhabitants) in 2021. According to the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the European averages are 21 judges and 12 prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants. The 2021 budgetary allocation for the judicial system was about EUR 40 million. This amounts to EUR 14.5 per inhabitant. Court infrastructure remains poor overall and future budget allocations need to address with greater determination the pressing needs of the judicial institutions. Court activity is monitored through quarterly reporting of the courts and data is made public in the annual reports of the HPC and HJC. Alternative dispute resolution continues to be limited and needs to be further reinforced. Awareness of the citizens about the alternative dispute resolution service is low and needs to be improved. Efficiency

The length of proceedings, the low clearance rate and the high number of unresolved cases continue to affect the efficiency of the judicial system. Appeal courts continue to have a high number of inherited cases and are affected by the high number of judicial vacancies, with only 30 out of 78 appeal judges in office. Albania adopted a new judicial map as per the legal requirements, following a consultation process and the support from international experts, including through EU funding. The new judicial map aims to re-distribute the backlog among the courts more fairly by reallocating judges and courts to the areas with the greatest backlog. In addition, it intends to create the possibility for more specialisation of judges in specific areas of law in order to improve quality. A solid implementation plan for the new judicial map will be needed. The average length for a case at appeal level is 893 days. However, at the Tirana Appeal Court, the average length for a criminal case is 5 820 days. The courts with the highest backlog are the High Court, the Tirana District Court and the Administrative Court of Appeal. The latter has 18 415 cases, of which 9 938 are older than two years. The High Court has the highest backlog with over 35 822 cases, of which 27 843 are older than two years (77%). However, following the new appointments to the High Court, the clearance rate has increased considerably to 117% for criminal cases and 193% for administrative cases. The recruitment of new administrative and legal experts, the improvement of working methods and the increase of communication and transparency remain key tasks. Further efforts are required to improve the collection and reporting of judicial statistical data. It is urgent to set up a new Integrated Case Management System through determined policy, planning and budgetary efforts, and ensure its inter-operability across the entire justice system, in line with CEPEJ methodology. Progress continued by the HJC on the measurement of court efficiency through the adoption of the necessary regulation and statistical charts for the evaluation of the performance of magistrates based on CEPEJ indicators. The HJC approved new rules for satisfaction surveys as a means to monitor the performance in all courts. More rules and indicators on efficiency should be promptly approved by the HJC. There are 18 cases pending before the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers for supervision of execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Despite COVID-19, all institutions proceeded with their regular work, including improving IT tools to hold online meetings. In 2021, COVID-19 did not affect court proceedings, and hearing were held in camera during all the reporting period. Fight against corruption Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. Despite some progress, increased efforts and political commitment in fighting corruption, it remains an area of serious concern. Overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas of public and business life. The Specialised Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structure (SPAK) conducted criminal proceedings and financial investigations in several high-level cases. Some final convictions of high-ranking state officials have been pronounced. The vetting of members of the judiciary continues to bring results in the fight against corruption within the judiciary. A new General Anti-Corruption Directorate was created at the Ministry of Justice to improve coordination at the central level; its efficiency remains to be demonstrated. Increasing the number of final convictions of high-level officials remains an important priority to further tackle a culture of impunity. Sectors most vulnerable to corruption require targeted risk assessments and dedicated actions. Since the 2021 recommendations were only partially implemented, these remain valid. In the coming year, the country should in particular: ®further progress towards establishing a solid track-record of investigations, prosecution, and adjudication of corruption cases, and seizure and confiscation/recovery of criminal assets resulting from corruption-related offences; ®ensure that the Specialised Structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) further addresses high-level corruption, enhances its staff and resources, as well as its coordination with law enforcement, prosecutorial and judicial entities in charge of corruption prevention; ®ensure that criminal proceedings are consistently and systematically initiated against judges and prosecutors accused of criminal conduct during the re-evaluation process; ®effectively address the recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and timely implement the related action plan; adopt integrity/prevention of corruption plans within all line ministries and State authorities. Track record Efforts continued on improving the track record of investigations, prosecutions and convictions in the fight against corruption. However, greater political will and more structured and consistent efforts, including adequate resources, tools and skills, remain necessary. The number of corruption cases sent to court was 440 in 2021, including 31 cases sent by the SPO. Final convictions of persons for corruption offences amounted to 235 at first instance and 99 at appeal and final court level. The overall number of cases referred for prosecution in 2021 was 3 351. On high-level state officials, there was some progress. In 2021, 89 cases were opened (73 in 2020) and 2 indictments were issued involving 5 people (against 11 indictments involving 20 people in 2020). There were no convictions of officials on high-level corruption charges. A former Prosecutor General was given a final sentence of two years inprisonment and five years probation for concealing assets. A former Minister of Interior received a final sentence of three years and four months imprisonment for abuse of power. Criminal proceedings and parallel financial investigations were conducted by SPAK in several high‑profile cases, involving politicians and members of Albanian institutions, the judiciary, local authorities and the business sector. This includes notably the arrests of a former Minister of Environment and of a member of Parliament as part of an investigation into the concession contracts on urban waste treatment (the incinerators’ affair). After approval by the SPAK Court of Appeal, the investigation against a former Minister in relation to the fatal Gërdec explosions in 2008 was reopened. Investigations should result in a substantial number of final convictions of high-ranking state officials. Continued efforts are needed to tackle the culture of impunity for high-level state officials. In 2021, the network of Anti-corruption coordinators, responsible for administrative investigations, presented 12 reports on criminal activities concerning 4 institutions (State Cadastre Agency, General Directorate of Road Transport Services, National Food Authority and General Directorate of Customs) while 85 administrative measures were taken against 11 institutions.

The vetting of members of the judiciary continued to have a positive impact on the fight against corruption. The SPO has followed up criminal investigations for vetted-out High Court and Constitutional Court judges and prosecutors. Efforts to ensure that dismissed magistrates are brought to justice should continue. Of the 300 high-level officials of the state police, Guard of the Republic and Service for Internal Affairs and Complaints (SIAC) 66 were vetted, leading so far to 6 dismissals and 7 resignations. The vetting process remains crucial to restore public trust in the judiciary and the law enforcement bodies of the state. In 2021 SPAK Courts continued to build the track record in the field of corruption with 52 final convictions (136 people) at first instance and 22 convictions against (44 people) in corruption cases. Some progress was made in 2021 on the seizure and confiscation of assets in corruption cases, with assets seized amounting to a total value of around EUR 21.5 million. However, additional efforts are needed, in particular on effective follow up through confiscation. In the first half of 2022, almost 37 million worth of assets were seized, but only minor amounts confiscated. On asset declarations by high-level state officials, 15 cases were referred by the High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflicts of Interest (HIDAACI) to law enforcement agencies in 2021, down from 72 in 2020. There were no final convictions on cases referred by HIDAACI. The law on whistle-blowing and whistle-blower protection continued to be implemented. In 2021, 11 cases were registered and adminstrativly investigated and one request for protection against retaliation was received by HIDAACI. The public and private sector made progress in creating respectively, 362 and 527 units responsible for adopting internal regulations on whistle-blowing, and continued to submit reports to HIDAACI. In 2021, HIDAACI issued fines as an administrative measure in 82 cases of refusal to declare, conflict of interests and failure to comply with the law on whistleblowing and whistle-blower protection. The large majority of these measures were upheld by the administrative courts. As regards internal control mechanisms, the state Supreme Audit Institution reported estimated damages and financial losses to public finances in 2021 of almost EUR 18 million. In 2021, the institution referred 14 cases involving 62 executives for prosecution, including a former Minister of Health and a former director of the Port Authority in Durrës. A case refered for prosecution in 2020, on a tender of EUR 27 million for the supply of police uniforms, led to arrests by SPAK of public officials in July 2021. (See also Chapter 32 – Financial Control). On access to information, the Commissioner for Information and Data Protection administered 992 complaints, and continued the review of 44 complaints carried over from 2020. In 698 of those cases the applicant was provided with the information requested, as a result of the administrative inquiry process. As for the institutional framework, the law on the right to information envisages administrative accountability of public officials who fail to comply with its obligations, sanctioned by fines of up to EUR 2 500 and the possibility for the Commissioner to take disciplinary actions against the person responsible. Anti-corruption measures continue to have a limited impact in particularly vulnerable areas (roads, cadastre, property, customs, tax administration, education, health, public procurement, PPP contracts, etc.). More action is needed and a strategy based on a general analysis of the problem should be adopted. Internal checks and inspection mechanisms in the public administration remain weak and ineffective. Corruption remains prevalent in the health and property sectors and within the police. It particularly affects women as regards access to justice, in social services and higher education. Institutional framework Prevention of corruption With the aim of improving the central anti-corruption coordination, a new General Anti-Corruption Directorate was created within the Ministry of Justice, incorporating competences and functions that were previously part of the Prime Minister’s Office. Its mission is to conduct administrative investigations on denunciations for abusive, corrupt, or arbitrary practices regarding law enforcement, as well as to identify violations of law by public officials. Effective inter-institutional coordination should be ensured between the new governmental structures involved in fighting against corruption. The efficiency of the new anti corruption directorate remains to be assessed. The institutional and operational capacity of the anti-corruption network in line ministries, at the local and the central coordination level continued to increase slightly.The recruitment of staff in the General anti-corruption directorate in the Ministry of Justice still needs to be completed. The network of anti-corruption coordinators at national and regional level has grown to 78 coordinators in 44 state institutions. HIDAACI made progress in its work by establishing an Electronic System of Declaration of assets and private interests, which is now fully operational. HIDAACI postponed the deadline for submitting declarations until October 2022, while providing trainings on the system to those concerned. Within the overall anti-corruption framework, the role of the State Supreme Audit Institution remains to provide recommendations to the government to address systematic weaknesses. The e-procurement, e-appeals and e-complaints systems helped to increased transparency in the area of public procurement. In April 2022, the Ministry of Justice submitted its self-assessment compliance report to the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), as a follow up to GRECO’s first report of the fifth round. The report deals with preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central government and law enforcement agencies, and lists 24 recommendations for Albania. The 12 subordinate institutions and agencies of the Ministry of Justice have finalised the process of integrity risk assessment and have approved their integrity plans. Besides the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Finance and Economy have also adopted their integrity plans. In November 2021, Parliament adopted the law on co-governance, which provided the Agency for Dialogue and Co-governance with substantial new powers (see above on Public Administration Reform). Since the Agency is also mandated to follow up on corruption complaints, its interaction with the network of anti-corruption coordinators and the division of roles between the two organisations need to be clarified. Law enforcement The specialised bodies in charge of investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating complex corruption cases – the Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Courts and the SPAK, comprising the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – remained fully operational during the reporting period. Legal framework Albania remains a party to all international anti-corruption conventions, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption. It has continued to improve its legal framework for preventing and combating corruption. The Albanian parliament still needs to adopt a unified law on political party and campaign financing, and also address remaining OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. As electoral campaigns are moving increasingly online, special attention should be paid to online and third-party campaigning.

Concerns about the misuse of state resources during electoral campaigns persist. The Central Election Commission fined the mayor of Durreës for using public resources during her electoral campaign for the March 2022 by-elections. Such incidents, and others related to vote-buying practices in April 2021 elections, confirmed the need for more transparent political party finances in line with international and European standards. Albania’s legislation is partially in line with the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Strategic framework Overall, the implementation of the inter-sectoral strategy against corruption is still on track. However, weaknesses as regards the need to improve ownership, to strengthen institutional capacities and increase the budget for the strategy’s activities are still present. Although the strategy includes monitoring indicators, the impact of anti-corruption structures on preventing public sector corruption remains difficult to measure. The 2022-2023 action plan to implement the extended strategy remains in place. Consultations with relevant stakeholders before the approval of the reports have improved, including the use of the public consultation platform. Some progress was made in awareness-raising and efforts in this area need to be sustained. Fundamental rights Albania generally complies with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions on the protection of fundamental rights. During the reporting period, some progress was made, notably with the adoption of a new and better-budgeted national action plan for LGBTIQ persons, a national strategy on gender equality and a national action plan for equality, inclusion and participation of Roma and Egyptians in Albania. The use of alternatives to detention and, in particular, the probation service have also made some progress. On property rights, the registration and digitalisation of cadastral data continued, but at a slow pace. The compensation process for property unjustly expropriated during the communist area has slowed down during the year, pending amendments to legislation. The sector remains prone to corruption. Efforts must intensify, including on completing the legislative framework and by making further progress in first registration and compensation processes. On the protection of national minorities, one additional piece of implementing legislation was adopted and preparations for the long awaited population census continued. However, the adoption of the implementing legislation on the most sensitive issues is still pending and the population and housing census was postponed to 2023. On the protection of personal data, Albania needs to take measures to prevent massive breach of personal data from happening again and must accelerate efforts to align its legislation with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Overall, the recommendations from last year were partially implemented. Recommendations for the coming year: ®adopt pending implementing legislation on minority rights, particularly on self-identification and the use of minority languages, and increase the capacities of the state Committee on National Minorities; ®allocate sufficient resources and finalise the legal framework, to complete the transitional processes in the area of property rights, and to improve the transparency and quality of the property register; ®improve data protection, in particular by adopting the revised law on personal data protection aligning with the EU General Data Protection regulation, by strengthening the Office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, and by raising awareness, including in public institutions; ®implement the national strategy for gender equality, the law on gender equality and ensure gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting for sectoral strategies. Overall, Albania continues to comply with international human rights instruments and most international conventions have been ratified. However, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have not yet been signed. In March 2022, the Committee of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women adopted a list of areashere Albania needs to demonstrate progress, including the legislative framework and definition of discrimination against women, employment, gender-based violence, and disadvantaged and marginalised groups of women. Albania submitted its first report on the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention). The conclusions of the Committee of the Parties to the Istanbul Convention, published in December 2021, noted the urgency of increasing resources to put legal provisions into practice. As part of Albania’s participation in the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), assessing the level of implementation of human rights legislation, policies, and strategies remain a challenge due to the absence of comprehensive monitoring and data. Albania continues to ensure good cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). On 15 June 2022, there were 400 cases against Albania (19 of which were communicated cases) pending before the court. The court delivered four judgments concerning Albania during the reporting period, of which three found breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Four judgments are under supervision by the Committee of Ministers on inter alia the prohibition against ill-treatment, the length of judicial proceedings, the non-enforcement of judicial decisions and the right to property. There were 75 new applications allocated to a judicial formation of the ECtHR and the court dealt with 224 applications concerning Albania in 2021, of which 220 were declared inadmissible or struck out. The Ombudsman (People’s Advocate) continued to promote and enforceme human rights. The institution’s budget was slightly raised in 2021. Of the 267 recommendations issued in 2021, almost half were accepted and at least partially implemented, 22% remained unanswered and several late and/or incomplete answers negatively affected the work of the Ombudsman. Progress needs to continue on improving the follow-up to these recommendations. During the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Ombudsman raised concerns about democratic participation, freedom of movement and assembly, restrictions on the right to family life and privacy, and proactively promoted principles of legality and proportionality with regards to legislation in light of the pandemic. The significant and stable number of discrimination cases filed with the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination (CPD) shows the public’s increased awareness and trust in this institution. The ECtHR upheld a claim based on a binding decision of the CDP from 2015, although the case was never tried in national courts, contrary to Albania’s claim. The ECtHR ruled that it was not necessary to seek redress in courts if there is an enforceable and binding decision of the Commissioner. In 2021, 324 cases were filed with the CDP, of which 168 were in the field of employment and 143 in the field of goods and services. The CDP issued four main recommendations. Two related to draft laws to combat sex crimes. Another was on the implementation of the national gender equality strategy. Another recommendation was on the 2021-2025 national action plan for equality, inclusion and participation of Roma and Egyptians. On the right to life, limited progress was made in investigating cases and strenghten the institutional and legislative framework on missing persons since the communist era. In October 2021, the Fier district prosecutor ordered the exhumation of a secret grave in the former prison camp in Ballsh, a known grave site. The order has not yet been implemented. Implementing legislation amending the law on the right to information about the former state security documents of the Socialist People’s Republic of Albania remain to be adopted. In March 2022, the new structure of the authority for information on the documents was approved by Parliament and cooperation agreements on the identification and recovery of missing persons were signed between the authority and the state police. Additionally, a new directorate was created with a clear mandate to enhance inter‑institutional cooperation on the identification and recovery of the bodies of missing persons. Continued political will is important to increase the number of cases solved and to raise public awareness on this matter. On the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, in November 2021 the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to Albania. The CPT reviewed progress made in transferring forensic psychiatric patients to proper facilities, and examined the conditions of the prison hospital. The medical and custodial staff were assessed to be generally satisfactory and no allegations of ill-treament of patients by staff were reported. However, poor material conditions remain, as well as structural deficiencies, including the lack of communal spaces for group activities and of outdoor yards. A memorandum of understanding with a joint action plan was signed by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Health and Social Protection to implement recommendations of the CPT and judgments of the ECtHR concerning forensic psychiatric patients and prisoners with a mental disorder. Following an additional agreement, the Zaharia prison was closed, and forensic psychiatric patients were transferred to the Lezha prison. Progress in the renovation of the Lezha prison continued. However, it remains over-populated and conditions in its forensic psychiatric facility need to be brought up to a satisfctory standard. Efforts are also needed to increase the number of staff and their competence.

The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) carried out 68 periodic inspections which were followed by 76 recommendation and handled 38 complaints, and nine ex officio cases concerning conditions in prisons and treatment of prisoners. The NPM also handled four complaints against the state police for violence and unjustified escorting. According to the Ombudsman’s reports, most of these cases occurred during arrest and interrogation, especially in the context of public protests. The prison system and detention centres remain an issue of concern. Long standing issues include political influence, corruption, and poor management, as well as shortage of staff, poor infrastructure, lack of healthcare and security. Lack of inspections, employment and reintegration programmes for prisoners are other issues of concern. Across the country, the number of inmates is now below the capacity of the prison system, with 95% of the capacity used. The General Director of Prisons, appointed in December 2021, has demonstrated a proactive commitment to improve prison facilities, including review of prison security and the rehabilitation of prisoners. Special attention should be paid to de-radicalisation in prison and post-releases. Although the 2019-2022 action plan for the development of the prison system will soon no longer apply, it remains relevant as the new penitentiary legal package still needs to be effectively implemented. A sub-legal act on the employment of prisoners was adopted in October 2021 and the Minister of Justice has undertaken efforts to provide employment to 580 prisoners. In 2021, the use of alternatives to custody continued to grow. The probation service remains fully operational in the whole country and provides alternatives to imprisonment, including for juvenile offenders. However, the use of electronic monitoring, has been suspended since 2017 because of an unsettled legal dispute. Legislation on protection of personal data still needs to be further aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the related “law enforcement” directive. The process of modernization has been launched. A draft law aiming to achieve this alignment has been submitted to public consultations, which lasted from half June to half July 2022. Additional human and financial resources will need to be allocated to the Office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDP) for the effective performance of its tasks and exercise of its powers, to fulfill its expanded role. On 22 July 2022, Albania ratified the 2018 Protocol amending the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regards to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (CETS 223). By 19 May 2022, the IDP received 496 complaints and carried out 56 administrative inspections, which represents a slighlty higher level of activity compared to 2020. The IDP issued 42 recommendations and 34 administrative sanctions. After the personal data leak that emerged during the 2021 general elections, a new serious and massive breach of personal data occurred in December 2021, when a database containing personal data of more than 600 000 employees in the private and public sector was leaked. The Commissioner launched an administrative investigation of this in the General Directorate for Taxation on the matter. One cross-cutting finding of the IDP during its administrative inspections has been the lack of awareness in public institutions of the obligations set out in the law on personal data protection. Overall, freedom of thought, conscience and religion was generally upheld. The state continued to provide the same level of financial support to religious communities. In May 2022, the state allocated EUR 935 000 to the Catholic, Sunni Muslim, Orthodox, and Bektashi communities for the administrative functioning of the communities and religious education. The dependence of some religious groups on financial support from third parties creates vulnerabilities. The restitution of properties belonging to religious groups and taken by the state during communism remains an unresolved issue. Freedom of expression The country has some level of preparation / is moderately prepared in the area of freedom of expression. No progress was made over the reporting period. The independence of media and the quality of journalism remain hampered by the intersection of business and political interests. Disinformation campaigns are recurrent especially in online media. The reporting period saw cases of threats, intimidation, and online smear campaigns against journalists reporting on rule of law, corruption and justice issues. Last year’s recommendations still need to be implemented and therefore, remain valid. In addressing the persisting shortcomings, Albania should: ®adopt a policy of zero tolerance for intimidation and attacks against journalists, as well as for threats against the media, including in political discourse and in the margins of demonstrations; ®ensure that the legal requirements for transparency of media ownership and financing, and its limitations thereto, as well as requirements on public advertising, are aligned to international standards; ®implement the Labour Code and strengthen the protection of Albanian journalists’ employment and social rights. Intimidation of journalists Political actors continued to voice anti-media sentiments and use denigrating language against journalists, on a number of occasions. During the reporting period, four new cases of alleged physical violence against journalists in the exercise of duty were formally registered with the prosecutor's offices of general jurisdiction. Two of the cases were closed and two are still subject of preliminary proceedings. In July 2021, police detained two journalists who were filming an ongoing operation against narcotics. In November 2021, an investigative journalist and a cameraman were almost pushed into a ravine by a police officer as they approached the murder site of a case they were reporting on. In January 2022, nine journalists and media crews were impacted by the police response to a protest in Tirana, but authorities argued that the police actions did not target the media. In the same month, a cameraman was arbitrarily forced by a municipal police to leave a local protest he was covering. In March 2022, the Audio-visual Media Authority (AMA) issued a statement condemning threats by business actors against two journalists. In February 2022, online media claimed that cyber-attacks targeted them following the publication of a taped conversation between a mayor and local football authorities