EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 29.5.2019 SWD(2019) 215 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Albania 2019 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 2019 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy {COM(2019) 260 final}



Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1.Context 1.2.Summary of the report 2.Fundamentals first: political criteria and rule of law chapters 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 3.Fundamentals first: economic development and competitiveness 3.1.The existence of a functioning market economy 3.2.The capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union 4. Good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation 5. Ability to assume the obligations of membership 5.1. Chapter 1: Free movement of goods 5.2. Chapter 2: Free movement of workers 5.3. Chapter 3: Right of establishment and freedom to provide services

5.4. Chapter 4: Free movement of capital 5.5. Chapter 5: Public procurement 5.6. Chapter 6: Company law 5.7. Chapter 7: Intellectual property law 5.8. Chapter 8: Competition policy 5.9.Chapter 9: Financial services 5.10. Chapter 10: Information society and media 5.11. Chapter 11: Agriculture and rural development 5.12. Chapter 12: Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy 5.13. Chapter 13: Fisheries 5.14. Chapter 14: Transport 5.15. Chapter 15: Energy 5.16. Chapter 16: Taxation 5.17. Chapter 17: Economic and monetary policy 5.18. Chapter 18: Statistics 5.19. Chapter 19: Social policy and employment 5.20. Chapter 20: Enterprise and industrial policy 5.21. Chapter 21: Trans-European networks 5.22. Chapter 22: Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments 5.25. Chapter 25: Science and research

5.26. Chapter 26: Education and culture 5.27. Chapter 27: Environment and climate change 5.28. Chapter 28: Consumer and health protection 5.29. Chapter 29: Customs union 5.30. Chapter 30: External relations 5.31. Chapter 31: Foreign, security and defence policy 5.32. Chapter 32: Financial control 5.33. Chapter 33: Financial and budgetary provisions ANNEX I – RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND ALBANIA ANNEX II – STATISTICAL ANNEX



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. In April 2018, the Commission recommended that the Council decides that accession negotiations be opened with Albania, at the same time encouraging Albania to maintain and deepen the current reform momentum, in particular in the key field of the rule of law. In June 2018, the Council set out the path towards opening accession negotiations in June 2019. Albania has continued to implement reforms that are crucial to the EU agenda, in particular delivering concrete results in the conditions identified in the Council Conclusions of June 2018 for the opening of accession negotiations. The Commission has continued to monitor thoroughly the developments in these areas. 1.2. Summary of the report As regards the political criteria, Albania has continued to make progress on its EU reform agenda throughout the reporting period. Strong polarisation persisted in the political sphere. Parliamentary activities were affected by a prolonged boycott from opposition parties, which then also relinquished en bloc their parliamentary mandates in February 2019. More than half of the relinquished parliamentary mandates have now been reassigned by the Central Election Commission and the quorum for the full functioning of Parliament is maintained. Main opposition parties decided not to register for the local elections, which are scheduled to take place on 30 June 2019. The main opposition parties’ disengagement has negatively affected the efforts for a bipartisan electoral reform despite the majority’s efforts to move forward. Opposition parties should constructively re-engage in the democratic institutions. Albania is moderately prepared in what concerns the reform of its public administration. Efforts continued in several related areas, resulting in some progress in the efficiency and transparency of public services delivery, improving the regulatory framework on impact assessment of policies, more transparent recruitment procedures, and the overall strengthening of the administration’s capacity to undertake merit-based civil service procedures. Consolidation of these achievements should advance further, to ensure a more efficient, depoliticised, and professional public administration. Albania's judicial system has some level of preparation. The implementation of comprehensive and thorough justice reform has continued consistently, resulting in good progress overall. The new institutions for the self-governing of the judiciary, the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecutorial Council and the Justice Appointment Council have been established, representing a crucial step in strengthening the independence and accountability of the judiciary. The temporary reevaluation of all judges and prosecutors (vetting process) has advanced steadily, producing tangible results. Under the aegis of the European Commission, the International Monitoring Operation has continued to oversee the process. More than 140 files have been processed, resulting in 88 dismissals/resignations of magistrates from office and 53 confirmations. Most dismissals pertained to issues related to unjustified assets. These concrete and credible results have substantially strengthened the sector and consolidated independence, impartiality, professionalism, and accountability of the judiciary.

Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. Good progress was made, notably with the adoption of the new Action Plan 2018-2020 for the implementation of the Inter-sectoral Strategy against Corruption, the amendments to the Law on the Declaration and Audit of Assets, the Law on Public Procurement as well as the adoption of the Code of Conduct for members of Parliament. The establishment of an Anti-corruption Task Force has increased the proactivity of administrative investigations. Direct access to databases for prosecutors and the police continued to improve. Good progress has continued through the strengthening of the track record on investigating, prosecuting and trying high level corruption cases. Concrete results in the fight against corruption include the vetting process which has led to the dismissal from office of a number of high-ranking magistrates, including at Constitutional Court and High Court level. The establishment of the High Prosecutorial Council (HPC) allowed the launch of the establishment of specialised anti-corruption bodies (Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structure – SPAK, National Bureau of Investigation – NBI). Once the vetting of candidates is completed, the bodies will become operational which will strengthen the overall capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption. However, overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern. Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against organised crime. Police operations to dismantle criminal organisations have been intensified. Several police operations resulted in multiple arrests, and a number of important indictments and convictions took place. These operations resulted in the arrest and prosecution of known leaders of organised criminal groups. International police cooperation, especially with EU Member States, has also intensified, leading to a number of successful large-scale law enforcement operations. Consistently for the past years, Albania showed a strong commitment to counter the production and trafficking of cannabis. Albania allows an intrusive monitoring mechanism by an EU Member State (aerial surveys by the Italian Guardia di Finanza, co-financed by the EU) to be in place. In the past two crop seasons, aerial surveillance has certified that almost no cultivation of cannabis has taken place in Albania. These steps represent tangible progress in meeting last years’ recommendations on improving the track record. Efforts need to continue, in particular by tackling money laundering and confiscating assets stemming from crimes and other unjustified wealth. On fundamental rights, Albania complies overall with international human rights instruments and developed its legal framework in line with European standards. During the reporting period, Albania has made efforts to meet obligations that arise from international legal instruments. The overall implementation of those instruments remains, however, to be strengthened. Legal framework was improved in the areas of child’s rights and domestic violence. A new law on social housing was approved by the parliament in May 2018, which aims to strengthen the protection of the right to housing of the most vulnerable members of the Roma and Egyptian communities. Further efforts are needed in relation to the consolidation of property rights. As regards the freedom of expression, the overall legislative environment is conducive to the exercise of freedom of expression, but implementation requires further efforts. As regards the economic criteria, Albania has made some progress and is moderately prepared in developing a functioning market economy. Economic growth increased further and unemployment decreased but remains still high. Exports grew solidly and the current account deficit narrowed. The high public debt-to-GDP ratio continued to decrease but the pace of fiscal consolidation remained slow. Banks continued to reduce the number of nonperforming loans and the use of foreign currency. The banking sector remained stable, though business credit growth did not pick up. Steps towards developing the financial market have been taken. The business environment has improved only in some aspects. Progress in the implementation of comprehensive justice reform is expected to contribute to strengthening the business environment and attracting investments. Some progress was made on increasing labour market participation and the quality and effectiveness of labour market institutions and services, but the employment rate and labour market participation remain low, and the informal economy is still a significant job provider. Albania has made some progress and has some level of preparation in terms of capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. Albania has made some progress in terms of energy, transport and digital infrastructure development, but lack of productive know-how, low education levels and technology transfers hinder Albania’s competitiveness and integration into international value chains. Exports and regional integration are below potential. Efforts to improve education and training show some results but reforms need to continue in particular to better address rural areas and vulnerable groups. Albania’s capacity for research, development and innovation remained very low. With regard to good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation, Albania has continued to participate actively in regional cooperation and maintain good neighbourly relations. Important steps have been taken to address bilateral issues with Greece. Albania continued to align its legislation to EU requirements in a number of areas, enhancing its ability to assume the obligations of membership. The country is moderately prepared in many areas, such as financial control, education and culture and statistics, or has some level of preparation, including in the areas of public procurement and trans-European networks. Albania will need to continue its efforts related to its overall preparations to adopt and implement the EU acquis. Adopting a comprehensive Public Internal Financial Control policy and coordinating its implementation with ongoing public administration and public finance management reform remains key towards a functioning system of internal control in public sector. Albania should continue work on the development of the transport and energy networks, and related connectivity reform measures, also with a view to improving connectivity throughout the region. The administrative capacity and professional standards of bodies charged with the implementation of the acquis need to be strengthened and the independence of regulatory bodies safeguarded. Enhancing transparency and accountability, in particular ensuring the effective, efficient and transparent functioning of the public procurement system and public finance management, remains essential. Albania has continued to fully align with all EU common foreign and security policy positions and declarations. With regard to migration, some progress was made in improving the institutional capacity on border management and asylum. Albania signed the European Border and Coast Guard Status Agreement with the EU in October 2018. Reception capacity to deal with mixed migration flows was further enhanced. The number of unfounded asylum applications lodged by Albanian nationals in the EU has decreased but remains high and requires continuous and sustained efforts, as well as to address the phenomenon of unaccompanied minors. 2.Fundamentals first: political criteria and rule of law chapters 2.1. Functioning of democratic institutions and public administration reform 2.1.1 Democracy The political environment remained polarised throughout the reporting period. The opposition carried out repeated boycotts of parliamentary activities. These culminated in the decision by the main opposition parties to relinquish their parliamentary mandate en bloc. This has led to delays in the electoral reform and the adoption of amendments to the Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors. More than half of the relinquished parliamentary mandates have now been reassigned by the Central Election Commission and quorum for the full functioning of Parliament is maintained. Elections The ad hoc parliamentary committee on electoral reform established in October 2017 held a number of technical meetings. This bipartisan body worked intermittently. However, no progress was made to address outstanding recommendations from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). A new ad hoc parliamentary committee has been established in October 2018 to address the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations still outstanding from the last three rounds of elections (2013, 2015, and 2017). The committee has worked intermittently, under the chairmanship of representatives from the two main political parties, holding workshops and consultations. In the absence of cross-party consensus, unilateral proposals by the government majority were tabled in October 2018 and again in December 2018, but no decisions resulted. The President of the Republic has issued a decree for holding local elections on 30 June 2019. The Central Election Commission (CEC) launched the related preparatory activities. The CEC is still missing two members, which shall be appointed by the opposition, while the members proposed by the Socialist Party were elected in October 2018. The main opposition parties have decided not to present their lists of candidates for the upcoming local elections. The deadline for the registration of parties has now expired. Parliament Parliamentary activities were affected by a high degree of polarisation and a prolonged boycott by the opposition, which began in September 2018. In February 2019, with very limited exceptions, Members of Parliament (MPs) from opposition parties relinquished their mandate. The Assembly has continued to increase transparency by intensifying consultations with interest groups and the public, while increasing its role in initiating new — or amending existing — legislative proposals. Capacities for oversight and involvement of the Assembly in the EU integration process remain to be strengthened. The transparency and control of political party financing need to be improved. Strong polarisation and the opposition’s repeated boycott of parliamentary activities has negatively affected the Assembly’s work. Since September 2018, the opposition took part in very few parliamentary activities, mostly at committee level, and cross-party consensus was reached only on a limited number of laws (8). A joint resolution of the EU-Albania Parliamentary Stabilisation and Association Committee was adopted only in the first of the two meetings held during the reporting period (February and November 2018). The second session was marked by a walkout by the members of the opposition parties. In February 2019, the members of opposition parties relinquished their parliamentary mandate en bloc. The process of re-appointments through the CEC is ongoing. Replacements of MPs have respected gender quota provisions, resulting in a further increase of women in the Assembly. There are now 43 women in the Assembly (out of a total of 140 members). At present, 8 of the government’s 15 members are women (53%), and there are 13 female deputy ministers (out of 31 deputy ministers in total, or 41%). Representation of women in municipal councils increased to 34.6% in 2015 (up from 12% in the 2011 local elections). In those 2015 elections, 10 women were elected as mayors (out of 61 municipalities in total).

During the reporting period, there were no issues leading to the opening of new ‘decriminalisation’ dossiers. In February 2018, the Parliament set up a subcommittee on human rights, and in July 2018 it set up a subcommittee on the implementation of the vetting law in the Albanian State Police. In May 2018, the Parliament established an independent commission on enforcement of the law on justice-system governance bodies. The members of this commission were nominated only in November 2018. A code of ethics was adopted in April 2018 without support by the opposition and, in September 2018 the Parliament Bureau (a grouping of the chairs of parliamentary groups and commissions) approved a handbook on conduct in Parliament. These documents aggregate: (i) existing legal provisions providing guidance to MPs on legal and ethical issues, and (ii) measures for the registration and disclosure of finances, gifts, lobbying contacts, and conflicts of interest. Although these are non-binding standards, they are expected to be applied by MPs. Communication channels between citizens and MPs need to be formalised and strengthened. The Parliament adopted fewer acts compared to the previous reporting period. In spite of this, it continued to strengthen its contribution to legislative review through more legislative initiatives, amendments from MPs, and interest-group hearings. Urgent legislative procedures were used in about 10% of cases (6 times out of 66 laws), including two cases of laws on special financing agreements for public works. The Parliament accepted one presidential decree returning laws for parliamentary review and rejected two of such requests by the President. Parliamentary rules of procedure do not yet reflect the existing Law on the role of Parliament in the EU integration process. Parliament’s capacity to monitor the compliance of new legislation with the acquis and ensure implementation remains limited. Coordination with the executive needs to be improved. About 10% of overall legislative activity was aimed at partial alignment with the EU acquis (7 out of 66 laws). The EU Integration Committee held only two hearings during the reporting period. The National Council for European Integration still has to consolidate its role and guarantee broader involvement in EU integration issues. On Parliament’s oversight function, the work of inquiry committees remained highly polarised. The committees on telephone surveillance, on the case pertaining to a former Minister of the Interior, and on the privatisation and renationalisation of the electricity power distribution system operator did not lead to conclusive results. Other oversight mechanisms remained generally underused. In 2018, there were five ‘interpellations’ (formal enquiries by parliament) with ministers and two motions with debate. Parliament conducted a structured review of annual reports from independent institutions, including hearings at committee level, and adopted 21 resolutions. The mechanism for following up and monitoring recommendations by Parliament and independent institutions marked a step towards stronger oversight, but has yet to show results. The Assembly elected two heads and a number of members of independent institutions. The chair of the State Audit Institution and two CEC members remain to be appointed. On transparency and accountability, the Parliament has ensured access to documents and activities. It has also held a number of thematic public meetings. The review of internal rules on the Parliament’s administration continues. Research staff and support to MPs and parliamentary groups remain limited. All positions of commissioners at the Ombudsman office were filled. The Ombudsman, the Commissioner for Protection against Discrimination and other independent institutions still face poor implementation of their recommendations by the Albanian administration. Political parties have partially adhered to OSCE/ODIHR recommendations on transparency of party funding. Further reform, including amendments to the Electoral Code, is required. Issues persist in relation to internal party democracy, transparency of party financing and due implementation of statutes. Governance The government remained committed to the EU integration process. In December 2018, the Prime Minister carried out a substantial reshuffle of the government. Nine cabinet positions were changed, including that of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. The replacement of the latter led to controversy between the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic on constitutional provisions regarding ministerial appointments. The restructuring of ministries and agencies has streamlined some existing structures, but has also created administrative gaps that must be overcome. The territorial administrative reform needs to be further consolidated as part of the wider decentralisation agenda. This is particularly necessary to guarantee local fiscal autonomy, ensure capacity building for staff, and empower municipalities to provide standard quality public services. EU integration has remained a key driving feature of the Albanian government’s actions. However, a persistently tense political situation and the opposition’s boycott in particular have hampered cross-party dialogue and inclusiveness for EU-related reforms. Political will to advance on the EU agenda needs to be combined with appropriate administrative capacities to align with the EU acquis. In particular, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs - and line ministries responsible for the EU acquis - would benefit from further streamlining of staff and resources. Some positive steps have been taken to increase consultations with stakeholders and reach out to civil society groups, especially on the future structure for accession negotiations. The restructuring of the ministries, which began in September 2017, had an impact on the performance of the administration. Some gaps in administrative capacity and a certain lack of clarity in institutional responsibilities in various policy areas remain to be overcome. The ruling majority has established structures to improve government accountability, inviting citizens to submit their assessment through ‘co-governance platforms’. Implementation of this initiative should be pursued in ways that better allow preserving the distinction between party and government. In December 2018, following several weeks of student protests against the existing education system, the government announced a large reshuffle. The reshuffle affected nine government posts, including the position of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Ministerial changes also involved the Minister of Finance, Minister of Education, the Minister of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Culture, the State Minister on the Protection of Entrepreneurship and the Minister for Relations with the Parliament. The replacement of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs (as well as the earlier change of the Interior Minister in November 2018) led to a dispute between the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. This dispute centred on contrasting interpretations of the constitutional provisions on ministerial appointments between the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. Given the presidential refusal to nominate the new Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister took over the post, and delegated the acting functions to a deputy minister. The Constitutional Court has been unable to fulfil its mandate over most of the reporting period due to the absence of a quorum. The court should have nine members, but only one of its nine members is in office, due to resignations, retirements, and a vetting process that removed some of the sitting judges. The process to fill these vacant posts started after the creation of the new Justice Appointment Council (see section 2.2.1 Chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights), as foreseen in the justice reform package. On local government, the territorial administrative reform (TAR) needs to be further consolidated as part of the wider decentralisation agenda. The government undertook a mid-term review of the 2015-2020 national cross-cutting strategy for decentralisation and local governance. The Supreme State Audit Institution also carried out an assessment of the TAR and issued a report on it, in October 2018. The new legislation affecting local government is not yet fully harmonised and implemented. Most notably, while municipalities have been attributed larger powers, the adequacy of financial resources available to local government units (LGUs) are at risk. LGUs’ fiscal autonomy is also at risk. 73% of the LGUs’ budget comes from national transfers. The central budget allocates about 1% of GDP to LGUs, the lowest in the Western Balkans. In most municipalities, LGUs are not effective at collecting revenues. As a result, the overall ability of local institutions to deliver quality public services remains limited. Appointments not fully in line with all the principles of the civil service law have continued, hindering the establishment of a fully merit-based civil service. On public participation in local decision-making, further progress has been made by municipalities, especially in the area of participatory budgeting. However, the institutional framework for effective and inclusive participation needs further strengthening. The Agency for the Delivery of Integrated Services (ADISA) expanded its presence throughout the territory with its one-stop-shops. A parallel process to roll out ‘front desks’ for service delivery at the local level is ongoing. The definition of national minimum standards for services remains outstanding. On territorial planning, general local plans have been approved and budgeted for 45 municipalities, and general local plans for the remaining 16 are budgeted for 2019. Coordination of the national sectoral strategies with local plans is weak. On transparency, guidelines for disclosure of information to the public by local governments were adopted by the Commissioner on the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data in September 2018. All municipalities in Albania now regularly publish decisions of their municipal councils online. The network of 61 EU local coordinators has strengthened the LGUs’ involvement in the EU accession process, raising more awareness of EU policies and the acquis. The so-called ‘EU desks’ in municipalities have been upgraded into structured units, based on a Council of Ministers decision of July 2018. A report on the performance of municipalities on EU matters was presented in April 2018. Civil society Progress is yet to be made on the implementation of the roadmap on an enabling environment for civil society. The Law on the National Council for Civil Society needs to be amended to reflect changes in ministerial portfolios and provide for appropriate representation in the National Council for Civil Society. Substantial efforts are needed to ensure meaningful and systematic consultations with civil society as part of an inclusive policy dialogue for reforms. These efforts should involve comprehensive feedback and follow up mechanisms. The financial sustainability of civil society organisations remains a challenge due to fiscal and legal frameworks.

Albania’s legal and regulatory framework on the right of freedom of association is generally in line with international standards. Nevertheless, the legal framework on free assembly needs improvement to clarify the different requirements for ‘notification’ versus ‘permission’ for free assembly. The law also needs to: (i) address the right to spontaneous assembly and counter assembly and (ii) make the procedures for notification more easy to complete and more accessible. The public consultation law requires reporting on how inputs by civil society organisations (CSOs) are taken into consideration. However, little evidence exists on the use and efficiency of the feedback mechanisms. The scope of the law should be amended to cover governmental decisions (sub-legal acts). The 2014 Law on Public Consultation laying down the procedural norms for transparency and public participation in decision-making is overall in line with European standards. The registration process continues to be problematic due to the high costs of registration, lengthy procedures and lack of specialised judges. No progress was made on public consultation in the adoption of sub-legal acts and the implementation of the laws on volunteerism and social enterprises. The National Council for Civil Society has organised regular meetings. The Law on the National Council should be amended to reflect changes in ministerial portfolios and their representation in the Council. There is a need to further increase the Council’s engagement with other civil society actors articulating CSOs’ opinions in the policy making processes. The revised roadmap on an enabling environment has not yet been approved. The Agency for the Support of Civil Society remains the main public body providing financial support for civil society. However, public funding is insufficient to sustain CSOs’ actions, in particular in the social services sector. No significant developments took place in the legal and regulatory framework of the relevant tax regime for CSOs, which remains an issue. This absence of a favourable tax regime represents a significant financial burden for CSOs, and the current legal environment does not support alternative funding sources. Tax incentives for corporate donations do not promote donations to CSOs, while no tax incentives are given for individual donations. 2.1.2. Public administration reform Albania is moderately prepared with the reform of its public administration. Some progress was made in improving the quality of public services, strengthening the administration’s capacity to undertake merit-based recruitments, and upgrading the regulatory framework on impact assessments. Implementation of the public administration reform and public-financial-management reform strategies has continued, although the reorganisation of ministerial portfolios and structures has affected its pace and effectiveness. Only partial progress was made on the Commission’s 2018 recommendations, which remain largely valid. In the coming year, Albania should in particular: ®build capacity and implement regulatory and budgetary impact assessments in all ministries to improve the quality and financial sustainability of legislative and policy proposals; ®upgrade the regulatory framework on policy planning and monitoring, and roll out the integrated policy making system; ®develop and adopt a salary policy for civil servants and connect the human-resource-management information system with the treasury to provide an automated payroll. Strategic framework for public administration reform Throughout 2018, the government has continued to monitor implementation of the 2015-2020 public administration reform strategy and the 2014-2020 public-financial-management (PFM) reform strategy. In April 2018, it also published the third annual monitoring report. The implementation record of the public administration reform strategy has remained modest. The deputy prime ministers, who have been in charge of the overall reform, ensured continued political support for the reform. Coordination between the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance and Economy needs to be further strengthened. The prime minister’s office should play a greater role in steering policy processes and managerial accountability (see Chapter 32). The Integrated Policy Management Group on Good Governance (IPMG) was established in 2018 with two main aims. The first aim was to improve high-level policy dialogue among institutions, development partners and civil society. The second aim was to ensure a common monitoring and reporting framework for all related reforms. Financial sustainability needs to be improved, as the overall reform of public administration is still too dependent on external donor funding. Policy development and coordination The legal basis and the institutional set-up are partially in place to ensure a consistent policymaking system. The creation of a coherent strategic planning and monitoring system is being held back by: (i) weaknesses in the existing regulatory framework on medium-term policy planning and (ii) a lack of a dedicated central quality control function. Some progress was made in preparing the rollout of the Integrated Planning System Information System, an IT tool that should help to link strategic policy planning and budgeting. The government needs to step up efforts to upgrade administrative capacity in: (i) strategic policy planning and (ii) policy monitoring. These increased efforts should be made at both ministerial level and the level of the Prime Minister’s Office. The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs prepares and monitors implementation of the national plan for European integration (NPEI). The rate of implementation of the NPEI remains low, at less than 30%, and the overall quality of policy planning remains weak. The government should step up efforts to establish functional inter-institutional co-ordination structures for more effective implementation of the NPEI at both political and administrative level. On inclusive and evidence-based policy and legislative development, the administration needs to further strengthen its capacity, particularly to harmonise the legislation with the acquis. Administrative data collection and its systematic use for policy and law-making should be improved across the administration. The government introduced a formal requirement to carry out regulatory impact assessment (RIA) on legislative proposals through amendments to the rules of procedure, approved in 2018. Full implementation of this requirement needs to be ensured in 2019. Stronger coordination is needed between the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the RIA unit in the Prime Minister’s Office. Public consultations are required for policy and legislative development, but methodological guidance and quality control is lacking. The electronic web-portal for public consultations is operational, but its use by the public remains limited. Public scrutiny of government work remains limited. Most government reports on various policies continue to present implemented activities rather than explain the actual results and outcomes that have been achieved through the implementation of government policies. Coordination structures for monitoring policy implementation need to become operational through IPMGs. It is also necessary to ensure a less fragmented system on policy monitoring by streamlining the relevant legislative framework. Public financial management The Ministry of Finance and Economy, which leads the public financial management reform, underwent further restructuring in 2018. There are still several posts unfilled in the Ministry at present. Based on a mid-term review of the PFM strategy in 2018, priorities are currently being reassessed. The goal of this reassessment is to: improve budget planning and management; strengthen internal control implementation across government; prevent arrears at central and local government level; follow up on internal and external audit recommendations; improve investment planning and management; improve public procurement review and compliance with procurement rules; grant more institutions online access to the treasury; and analyse the fiscal risks of state-owned enterprises.

Progress was achieved with the preparation of the 2018 and 2019 budgets and with the execution of the 2017 budget in line with the revised Organic Budget Law. Adherence to fiscal rules has improved, mainly thanks to the inclusion in the 2019 budget proposal of both a section on fiscal risks and a list of Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs). The new public investment management (PIM) guidelines were adopted in March 2018. A campaign to combat the informal economy was implemented, and external audit manuals were piloted. (See also Chapters 5, 16, 29 and 32) Budget transparency has improved with the publication of all key budget documents on time. The 2019 budget, the citizens’ budget, and the list of public investments (including PPPs under the medium-term budget programme) have been published. Public participation in the budget process needs to be further strengthened. The 2017 budget implementation report was published. However, information on state assets contained in this report does not allow for a full comparison with the original budget. Public service and human resources management Due to a fragmented legislative framework, there are not yet uniform standards on merit-based recruitment, promotion and dismissal across the whole public administration. The Civil Service Law (CSL) provides a solid basis for merit-based recruitment and promotion, which continued to improve in 2018 thanks to a centralised recruitment process. 92% of the planned vacancies in 2018 were filled, compared to 46.5% in 2017. Overall transparency and fairness of recruitment at the central level has improved thanks to refinements of the online application system, improved quality of examination procedures, and the use of electronic written tests. An ad-hoc selection procedure was used for the integration of highly qualified young graduates in the public administration. Notwithstanding merits in the objectives of this initiative, the relevant decision of the Council of Minsters should be brought fully in line with the principle of merit-based recruitment enshrined in the Civil Service Law. Proper implementation of the Civil Service Law requires more efforts at the local level, where many appointments have been made in breach of this law. There were 568 dismissals of civil servants in 2018, a slight increase compared to the 460 dismissals in 2017. This was mainly due to the reduction in the number of ministries. The backlog of court decisions confirming unlawful dismissal of civil servants was reduced. The human resources management information system (HRMIS) is still not fully functional. The system now includes more data on public-service organisations and employees, but does not cover the whole civil service. The number of institutions that can generate payroll reports has increased, but the link between the HRMIS and the treasury’s IT system is not yet operational. The Commissioner for Oversight of the Civil Service needs more staff and more financial resources to better fulfil its responsibilities. The government needs to step up efforts to establish a coordination mechanism on human resource management between central and local level. These efforts should include extension of the HRMIS to the local level and systematic oversight at the local level. The remuneration system is based on a job classification system, which needs to be further reformed. There is no coherent salary policy that would establish clear criteria for pay supplements and salary increases. This means that it is a common practice for salary increases for certain positions to be awarded through a decision of the Council of Ministers. This impairs the fairness and coherence of the system. Salary supplements are not awarded in a uniform manner across institutions. Salary increases are not linked to the promotion and performance appraisal system. The training programmes implemented by the Albanian School of Public Administration contribute to the professional development of civil servants. However, an integrated training management cycle remains to be established. The School’s budget in 2018 has been reduced compared to 2017, although the number of training courses has increased. Local-level civil servants receive very little training. A law is in place that prevents corruption and ensures the integrity of public officials and civil servants. However, institutional capacity for verifying assets and assessing conflict-of-interest declarations should be reinforced. Accountability of the administration The legal framework on the organisation of the central administration duly regulates accountability lines between institutions. However, this legal framework lacks clarity on the creation of administrative bodies that are sub-ordinated to ministries, the parliament and prime minister. Some subordinated bodies are already being reorganised, but new agencies are still being set up without any strategic planning. Recruitment to these new agencies is mostly regulated outside the scope of the civil service law. Managerial accountability within institutions is still focused on processes rather than the achievement of results, and there is little delegation of decisionmaking to top and middle management. (See Chapter 32). The government needs to step up its efforts to develop a long-term strategy on accountability by ensuring appropriate supervision and reporting lines between ministries and subordinated agencies. Citizens’ right to good administration is limited. Public institutions do not systematically implement the recommendations of oversight bodies. The number of implemented recommendations from the Ombudsman remains low. The Law on the Right to Information regulates citizens’ right to access public information. An increasing number of public authorities have adopted transparency programmes. However, public institutions need to make more efforts to pro-actively disclose information of public interest. The capacity of the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Protection of Personal Data to oversee the process needs to be increased. There is already a central registry on information requests, but it needs more funding. The legislative framework for the right to administrative justice is in place. The capacity of the administrative court system to deal with the backlog of cases has improved at the firstinstance level, but a backlog persists at the appeal-court level since Albania has only one administrative court of appeal. The capacity of appeal boards to process cases remains weak. The legislation for protecting the right of citizens to seek compensation is in place, but court cases remain rare due to the public’s limited awareness of their rights. Due to the lack of data collection, the effectiveness of the liability regime cannot be assessed. Service delivery to citizens and businesses The Code of Administrative Procedures provides the legislative framework for simplifying administrative procedures. However, legal uncertainty for citizens and businesses continues, as there have been delays in adopting the necessary implementing legislation and amending the sectoral policy legislation. This is due to the weak capacity of the Ministry of Justice to coordinate and promote implementation of the new law and the weak capacity of line ministries to harmonise sectoral legislation that contradicts provisions in the Code of Administrative Procedures. Training is needed to upgrade the capacities of the administration to both harmonise and effectively implement the legislation. 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. A properly functioning judicial system and an effective fight against corruption are of paramount importance, as is respect for fundamental rights in law and in practice. Albania has some level of preparation in implementing the acquis and European standards in this area. Good progress was made, in particular through the further determined implementation of far-reaching justice reforms (which included the establishment of the institutions for the self-governance of the judiciary) and the continuation of tangible results in the vetting process. All the vetting priority cases were finalised in first instance and a number of appeals were also completed. To date, over 280 vetting dossiers have been processed, leading to decisions on more than 140 assessees. The legislative framework has been strengthened to fight corruption more effectively. Operational efforts against high-level corruption have started to bring some concrete results. However, corruption is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern. There has been further progress in enforcing human rights, strengthening the institutional and legislative framework for the protection of children’s rights, tackling gender based violence and the protection of vulnerable groups, in particular the Roma and Egyptian communities. Functioning of the judiciary Albania has some level of preparation. Good progress has been made through continued implementation of the justice reform. The re-evaluation of all judges and prosecutors has advanced steadily and delivered substantial results. The number of magistrates having left the judicial system, through dismissals and resignations (88), is higher than the number of confirmations in office of existing magistrates (i.e. existing magistrates who passed the vetting process), which is currently at 53. The outcome of thorough vetting has affected the pace of setting-up the new judicial institutions. Due to the outcome of the vetting, the new bodies for the self-governance of the judiciary (the High Council of Justice, the High Prosecutorial Council, and the Justice Appointment Council) were formed in December 2018. Dismissals due to vetting have resulted in several vacancies at other key institutions, in particular at the High Court level. The Constitutional Court has lost its quorum, with only one judge out of nine remaining in office. The new bodies for the self-governance of the judiciary are taking the necessary steps to address this ongoing transition. On the other recommendations from the 2018 report, making more effective use of an improved case management system remains outstanding.

In the coming year, Albania should in particular: ®further advance the process of re-evaluating judges and prosecutors (moving on with appeals is expected to consolidate a jurisprudence on the most critical issues of the reevaluation process); make progress in the recruitment of new magistrates to fill the positions made vacant by the vetting; ®complete the set-up of specialised investigative and judicial bodies against corruption and organised crime, and consolidate the structures of the newly established institutions for the self-governing of the judiciary; ®continue to pursue a sector-based approach to the justice reform under the cross-cutting strategy for 2017-2020 and ensure adequate governance, monitoring and reporting mechanisms through well-developed structures, methods and indicators coupled with adequate financial support for implementation of the reform. The comprehensive transitional re-evaluation process (vetting) of all judges and prosecutors has continued steadily. The vetting has been implemented thoroughly, with the overall objectives of strengthening professionalism across the sector; eradicating corruption; consolidating independence and impartiality; and, ultimately, rebuilding public confidence in the judiciary. The vetting institutions have continued to build their investigations on the basis of the three pillars provided for in the law: proficiency assessment; asset verification (which is performed on all assessees, as well as on all their close relatives for wealth accumulated in Albania and abroad); and links to organised criminal networks. The vetting process is carried out under the independent oversight of an international monitoring operation, which has been deployed under the aegis of the European Commission. The international monitoring operation follows the work of all vetting institutions: the Independent Qualification Commission (IQC), the two Public Commissioners, and the Appeal Chamber. To date, investigations on 280 assessees have been initiated (out of the 800 magistrates that will undergo vetting). In total, more than 140 dossiers have been processed, leading to 88 dismissals/resignations and 53 confirmations in office. The International Monitoring Operation (IMO) has consistently performed its oversight role in the vetting process. The IMO has issued opinions on first-instance assessments, including seven recommendations to appeal first-instance decisions of confirmation. All were followed up by the Albanian vetting institutions. Strategic documents The cross-sectoral justice strategy for 2017-2020 and its action plan were adopted in 2016. Parts of the earlier action plan have already been implemented. The estimated budget for its implementation is EUR 98 million, of which 35% is provided by international donors. The establishment of appropriate monitoring, evaluation and reporting mechanisms is still pending. A monitoring body has been appointed within the Ministry of Justice, and it presented its third monitoring report in November 2018. In May 2018, the Parliament established an independent commission for the coordination, monitoring, and enforcement of the Law on Justice System Governance Bodies. The members of this independent commission were eventually nominated in November 2018. New judicial governance bodies The new High Judicial Council, a separate High Prosecutorial Council, and the Justice Appointment Council started to perform their functions in January 2019. Independence and impartiality The principles of impartiality and judicial independence are set out in the Constitution and reflected in the laws on the governance of the judiciary and on the status of judges and prosecutors. The reform has given prosecutors greater autonomy and reduced the centralisation of the system around the General Prosecutor. Judges and prosecutors cannot be transferred without their consent. Exceptions concern disciplinary measures, structurally justified changes or temporary needs. Judges can be dismissed only for serious misconduct or if sentenced for a criminal offence. The dismissal decision may be appealed at the Constitutional Court. Attempted interference with the judiciary, including by authorities within the judiciary, has been an issue and needs to be addressed beyond the vetting process. The allocation of cases should be conducted randomly by lot and electronically. However, the electronic case management system has shown many shortcomings. Random allocation of cases to prosecutors is partially used, but prosecution offices often fail to make full use of the system and produce reliable data. The laws provide for strict procedures in case of undue influence over a court case or when judges consider their independence to be jeopardised. Accountability The Code of Ethics for judges and prosecutors is now regulated by law and is no longer a nonbinding document produced by the National Conference of Judges. The High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council are now responsible for approving the ethics rules and code of conduct and for monitoring them. The High Justice Council has improved evaluation forms and adapted these forms to the new legal standards. However, the performance of judges continues mostly to be measured on the basis of numbers of complaints and final court convictions. Until the High Justice Inspector (HJI) is established, the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecutorial Council should continue to investigate disciplinary misconduct. Based on the latest reform, disciplinary proceedings have to be initiated and conducted by the High Justice Inspector and no longer by the Minister of Justice. However, the Minister of Justice retains the right to submit a complaint and to ask the HJI to carry out investigations on prosecutors. The recruitment process for the School of Magistrates has been improved with the inclusion of an integrity test and a psychological assessment of the integrity and moral standards of candidates. Judges and prosecutors are obliged to declare their assets on an annual basis. Provisions should be adopted to address the current lack of legal definitions for the list of misconduct for judges and prosecutors. Previous provisions addressing these definitions were repealed by the Constitutional Court decision on the Law on Status. Professionalism and competence The system for recruiting, selecting, appointing, transferring and dismissing judges and prosecutors has improved. Constitutional and legal changes have reduced political influence during the appointment process, ensuring a merit-based career system. The High Court has currently only three members exercising their functions, and is awaiting new appointments from the High Judicial Council. Former members have mostly resigned after the termination of their mandate and one judge was dismissed after being found guilty of corruption. Five members were dismissed at the first-instance level of the vetting procedure and three were confirmed. However, two of the confirmation cases have been appealed by the Public Commissioner. The newly appointed High Judicial Council is expected to fill all open vacancies at the High Court. Appointments to the Constitutional Court are ongoing. The new Justice Appointment Council has set in motion the process to appoint the eight vacant Constitutional Court judges, as well as of the High Justice Inspector. The General Prosecutor should be elected following a proposal by the High Prosecutorial Council and approval by a qualified majority in Parliament. While the appointment process is ongoing, a Temporary Prosecutor General remains in office. The responsibilities of the temporary General Prosecutor are limited under the law. Quality of justice

Albania had 358 full-time judges (12 per 100 000 inhabitants) and 336 full-time prosecutors (11 per 100 000 inhabitants) in 2018. According to the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the European average is 21 judges/11 prosecutors per 100 000 inhabitants. The 2017 budgetary plan for the justice sector was EUR 98 million, while in 2018 it was raised to approximately EUR 100 million, with a 14% increase. This amounts to approximately EUR 5.3 per inhabitant. The new justice institutions and the vetting process are supported by a budgetary plan of EUR 12 million. Court infrastructure remains poor overall and future budget allocations should take this aspect into account. Some hearings continue to be held in judges’ offices, as spending on court premises has not been prioritised due to the establishment of the new judicial institutions. The School of Magistrates is responsible for the initial and continuous in-service training of judges and prosecutors. The training needs are identified by the School in cooperation with stakeholders within the judiciary. The new legislation expanded the School’s responsibilities, which now also include training legal advisers at all court levels, court chancellors, court administrators and state advocates. However, the School continues to rely heavily on donors’ support and has limited capacity in terms of premises, academic staff, and qualified specialised trainers. A structured needs assessment and proper evaluation mechanism should also be developed to strengthen the overall effectiveness of the School with more adequate financial and human resources. The School of Magistrates has not managed to attract enough candidates, resulting in only 10 candidates passing the entry exam for the academic year 2018/19. One of these successful candidates withdrew and another one was dismissed at first-instance level in the vetting process. The Parliament failed to adopt transitional provisions allowing for a doubling in the number of students for the 2018/19 academic year, which were necessary back then since the two new councils for the self-governance of the judiciary had still to be formed. The amendments could not be adopted since the boycott by the opposition of plenary sessions prevented the Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors to be revised with the necessary qualified majority. The newly formed High Judicial Council and High Prosecutorial Council set the number of candidates to be admitted in the 2019/20 academic year at 75. The first 53 have already been selected. The High Judicial Council monitors and evaluates court activities on a monthly basis. All courts are required to send a monthly report to the High Judicial Council. They are also required to produce annual activity reports. All courts have websites, which are publicly accessible, although the data is not always fully updated due to lack of capacity. This is also affected by the lack of full functionality in the electronic case management system, which thus far did not produce reliable and coherent statistical information. A new modern, centralised and unified case management system is being developed with donors’ support, but remains to be established. The impact of alternative dispute resolution continues to be low. The total number of cases referred to and solved through mediation was 2 077 compared with 1 260 in 2016. Efficiency There is still a lack of consolidated reporting on the efficiency of the justice system. Efficiency of the justice system is affected by issues such as the length of proceedings, the clearance rate, and the number of pending cases at all court levels including the Constitutional Court. The clearance rate is lowest for the appeal courts, particularly for the Appeal Administrative Court (37%). This is due to a high number of appeals and the low number of judges allocated to the Court. The highest clearance rate (100%) is in the first-instance court of serious crimes. Dismissals and resignations resulting from the vetting process have created vacant positions in the judiciary. This increased the backlog in cases, in particular at the High Court level, where the current backlog is approximately 30,000 pending cases. The Constitutional Court repealed the provisions of the Law on Status regulating the rights for retirement for judges and prosecutors. Revised ‘repairing’ provisions remain to be adopted to clarify the age of retirement for judges and prosecutors. There are 205 related applications pending at the European Court of Human Rights. Changes in the procedural codes under the reform have provided for improved legal provisions on the length of proceedings. A human-resources strategy should also be developed by the High Judicial Council. However, correct implementation of these improved legal provisions requires more training for judges and advocates. In addition to the overall length of court proceedings, the execution of court decisions remains a cause of concern. Since the introduction of the private offices’ service, enforcement of court decisions has improved. However, the enforcement of monetary claims against the state should be improved further. Success fees should be more proportionate to the final value of the immovable property at the end of the enforcement procedure, rather than its initial value. The centralised electronic system into which all enfacement cases should be registered is not yet functional. The system should also be effective and accessible for other related agencies, such as notaries and the Immovable Property Registration Office. At the same time, enforcement officers should have access to existing state-run registers and databases on assets, such as immovable property. Further amendments in the procedural laws are necessary to ensure the timely implementation of decisions, particularly for territorial powers linked to the residence of the debtor. Fight against corruption Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. Good progress has been made, notably with the adoption of the new action plan 2018-20 for the implementation of the Inter-sectoral Strategy against Corruption; the amendments to the Law on the Declaration and Audit of Assets; the Law on Public Procurement; and the adoption of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament. Although the vetting of members of the judiciary is an administrative process, progress in this area is relevant to assess Albania’s concrete results in fight against corruption. Improvements are still expected to the Law on political party financing, the Electoral Code and the Law on Conflicts of Interest. The establishment of an Anti-corruption Task Force has increased the proactivity of administrative investigations and is already producing its first concrete results. Good progress has continued through further consolidating efforts towards the establishment of a solid track record on investigating prosecuting and trying high-level corruption cases. The recommendations of the last annual report were partially implemented. Efforts should continue towards consolidating a track record of seizure and confiscation/recovery of criminal assets resulting from corruption-related offences. The ongoing establishment of specialised anti-corruption investigative and judicial bodies remains crucial. Direct access to databases for prosecutors and the police continued to improve. Overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas and remains an issue of concern. There is awareness at political level of the need to effectively address corruption. The justice response against high-level corruption has started to generate concrete results, which needs to continue. In the coming year, Albania should therefore: ®further progress towards establishing a solid track record of seizure and confiscation/recovery of criminal assets resulting from corruption-related offences; further increase the use of financial investigations; ®finalise the procedures for the establishment of the specialised anti-corruption bodies, composed of the Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structure (SPAK), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Court to address high-level corruption; ensure adequate resources and cooperation between these new structures; ®continue to improve access to national electronic registries for law enforcement authorities. Track record

On the track record of investigations, prosecutions and convictions in the fight against corruption, the overall positive trend of recent years continued. However, further efforts are needed to consolidate this trend, as shown by some statistical data. In particular, the number of final convictions involving junior or middle-ranking officials has slightly decreased compared with the previous reporting period (there were 289 such convictions in 2018 compared with 331 in 2017). The overall number of referrals to prosecution has also slightly decreased (2 126 in 2018 and 2 342 in 2017). On convictions of high-level state officials, the judiciary has achieved some good initial results. In 2018, one Appeals Court judge was sentenced by the Serious Crime Court (case currently at appeal level) and one prosecutor was sentenced by the Court of Appeal for Serious Crimes (case currently at the Supreme Court). There were 102 new cases against high-level state officials sent to prosecution in 2018 (7 persons indicted), this has been an increase compared to 61 in 2017 (10 persons indicted). However, these frequent investigations in recent years have so far not resulted in a substantial number of final convictions of high-ranking state officials. This risks fostering a culture of impunity. In February 2019, 12 officials and former officials of the Ministry of Justice were arrested for suspected abuse of office and violation of equality in tenders during the period 2016-17. The officials include a former secretary general of the Ministry of Justice. Although the vetting of members of the judiciary is an administrative process, it is relevant for assessing Albania’s concrete results in fight against corruption. Of the more than 140 magistrates who underwent vetting so far 88 have been dismissed from office, mostly for issues related to unjustified assets, or resigned. These results have been crucial to restoring public trust in the judiciary. Institutional support has been crucial to the progress made and confirms the strong commitment of all relevant authorities in Albania to eradicate corruption in the judiciary. Among the high-ranking judges and prosecutors that have been dismissed through the vetting to date, it should be noted that eight out of nine Constitutional Court judges and 15 out of 18 High Court judges have been dismissed through the vetting or have resigned. This represents a significant number of cases involving high-level state officials. On asset declarations by high-level state officials, the number of cases referred by the High Inspectorate of Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflicts of Interest (HIDAACI) to the prosecution has increased: 27 cases were referred in 2018 and 22 cases in 2017. In 2018, eight high-level officials (four of whom were heads of commune and one of whom was a head of municipality) were convicted, compared to five in 2017 (including one head of commune and two customs officials). In total, HIDAACI referred 53 low- and mid-ranking officials to the prosecution services in 2018 (of which 17 resulted in final convictions). This is an increase compared to the 32 referrals resulting in 14 final convictions in 2017. Seizure and confiscation of criminal assets are not systematically ordered and carried out in corruption-related cases. Risk assessments have been piloted in some sectors(Customs Administration, General Inspectorate), and should be further expanded. Establishing a solid track record of investigations, prosecutions and final convictions in corruption cases remains a long term objective to be further consolidated. Some progress was made in setting up an interface between the different electronic casemanagement systems of the police, prosecution and courts. However, the electronic casemanagement system of the courts needs a technical update before further progress can be achieved. Implementation of the Law on whistle-blowing and whistle-blower protection continued. At both central and local level, 163 units responsible for protecting whistleblowers and for reporting cases to HIDAACI have been established. In 2017, 446 units responsible for the protection of whistle-blowers were established across private companies. In 2018, 16 external reporting cases were registered and investigated by HIDAACI, compared with eight in 2017. On internal control mechanisms, the newly established Anti-corruption Task Force carried out 70 inspections leading to 108 dismissals from the civil service and 36 criminal referrals. The State Supreme Audit Institution referred 41 cases, including high-level officials, to prosecution. The rate of implementation of the State Supreme Audit Institution’s general recommendations by public institutions remains low. On access to information, the Commissioner for Information and Data Protection received 820 complaints and issued 37 decisions in 2018, while 560 complaints were received in 2017. A system was established and installed in 27 public institutions to record the overall number of requests made and to enable citizens to submit online requests for public information. The impact of anti-corruption measures in particularly vulnerable areas (customs, tax administration, education, health, public procurement etc.) remains limited. There is still a strong and urgent need to improve and strengthen internal checks and inspection mechanisms within the public administration. There is also a need to improve their cooperation with law enforcement authorities. Institutional framework Prevention of corruption The capacity of the anti-corruption network in line ministries, at local level and in the Office of the National Coordinator against Corruption (NCAC) needs to be further strengthened. The Ministry of Justice, which serves as the new NCAC since September 2017, is currently vested with the role of the Secretariat of the Inter-ministerial Coordinating Committee for the Implementation of the Strategy, established in 2018. The Inter-ministerial Committee is chaired by the Minister of Justice and is composed of 10 deputy ministers representing their respective ministries. The newly established Anti-corruption Task Force is responsible for inter-institutional inspections and has started to produce positive results. Coordination between the new structures and the Council of Ministers’ Unit for Transparency and AntiCorruption as well as the Integrated Policy Management Group has to be consolidated. The impact of the anti-corruption structures on preventing public sector corruption remains unclear. The role of HIDAACI in detecting conflicts of interest and checking asset declarations was strengthened by the adoption of the Law on whistle-blowing and whistle-blower protection and the implementation of the vetting process. An online asset declaration system is being installed and tested and will be used fully as of January 2020. The role of the State Supreme Audit Institution in the overall anti-corruption framework should be strengthened to identify and effectively address systematic weaknesses. The inspection capacity in public procurement needs to be further improved. E-procurement is expected to achieve more transparency and reduce opportunities for abuse. The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published its Second Compliance Report (fourth round) on Albania in July 2018, and concluded that Albania had dealt satisfactorily with only four of the 10 recommendations. Albania should now prioritise the implementation of the remaining six recommendations. Albania had implemented satisfactorily or dealt in a satisfactory manner with all 12 recommendations from the third round. Integrity-related secondary legislation is in place but an overall integrity risk-management system has yet to be established. No integrity plans have been developed yet for ministries but a ‘Manual of Ethics on Public Service Delivery’ has been adopted. A new online portal has been created to promote ‘co-governance’ with citizens. Since 2017, 33 336 citizens’ complaints against the public administration have been registered. Out of 28 565 cases related to the central government, 27 335 were resolved, leading to 300 dismissals. Law enforcement

Specialised bodies in charge of investigating, prosecuting and sanctioning corruption are being set up. These include an investigative body (NBI), a specialised prosecution office, and a specialised court (SPAK). The process is advancing based on the foreseen legal deadlines. The Special Prosecution Office has performed a preliminary verification of the fulfilment of the eligibility criteria of all the candidates for the SPAK. The High Prosecutorial Council has already submitted the list of candidates to the Independent Qualification Commission, which is carrying out the relevant vetting investigations. Police and prosecution have been granted direct access to additional private and public national registries, including 22 key national registries, through a central task force. This has improved the capacity of law enforcement authorities to operate, and has also made investigations more efficient. Concerns remain over high staff turnover and insufficient inter institutional cooperation. The overall resources of law enforcement authorities need to be strengthened. Legal framework Albania is party to all international anti-corruption conventions, including the United Nations Convention Against corruption. It has continued to improve its legal framework on the prevention and combatting of corruption. The Code of Conduct for members of Parliament adopted in April 2018 has strengthened the rules on conflicts of interest; declarations of private interests; limitations on outside activities whilst in office; acceptance of gifts; contacts with lobbyists and third parties; post-employment restrictions; and standards on conduct during parliamentary and non-parliamentary activities. The Law on the Declaration and Audit of Assets, Financial Obligations of Elected Persons and Certain Public Officials was further amended in December 2018, making it possible to use the online declaration system. The Law on Conflicts of Interest needs to be further improved. A Law on lobbying remains to be adopted. The legal framework on whistle-blower protection still needs to be aligned with the new EU acquis on this issue. The latest amendments to the Law on political party financing provide for the publication of financial reports on the election campaigns of political parties, election campaign monitoring reports and financial audit reports. However, further amendments to the Law on political party financing are necessary, as well as to the Electoral Code. Amendments to the Criminal Code introducing a clear definition of ‘high state official’ have yet to be adopted. All the secondary legislation for the legal framework on integrity is in place but it remains highly complex and fragmented. While Albania has an increasingly comprehensive legal framework, effective and high-quality implementation should be prioritised. Strategic framework The implementation of the Inter-sectoral Strategy against Corruption is overall on track, although weaknesses remain. These weaknesses include the need to strengthen ownership, strengthen institutional capacities, ensure proper costing of the strategy’s measures and ensure harmonisation with the ongoing actions in the anti-corruption sector (including donor activities). A new action plan for 2018-20 for the implementation of the strategy was approved in April 2018, but it should be reviewed to include a detailed costing of the measures. According to the 2018 draft annual monitoring report, 53 activities out of 97 planned have been realised (54%) while 17 are ongoing. In 2017, out of 191 planned activities, 52% were fully implemented, and 31% were partially implemented. The monitoring mechanism and its accountability need to be strengthened. There should be consultations with the relevant stakeholders before the approval of the reports. Feedback should also be systematically provided to the stakeholders who participate in developing anticorruption policies. A comprehensive performance assessment framework has been finalised, and reporting on the performance indicators is for the first time included in the annual monitoring report for 2018. The lack of human and financial resources for implementing the measures and reporting on progress remains a concern. Fundamental rights Albania complies overall with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions related to the protection of fundamental rights. It has yet to ratify 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. During the reporting period, Albania made efforts to meet obligations that arise from international legal instruments. However, the overall implementation of those instruments needs to be strengthened. The legal framework was improved in the areas of children’s rights and domestic violence. A new Law on Social Housing was approved by the Parliament in May 2018, which addresses shortcomings in the field of housing and forced eviction. This law creates a quota for 5% of housing to be reserved for the most vulnerable members of the Roma and Egyptian communities. Adoption of secondary legislation on minority rights is ongoing. Efforts are ongoing to consolidate property rights and shall be further pursued. In the coming year, Albania should: ®further improve institutional mechanisms for protecting children, protecting victims of domestic violence, guaranteeing gender equality and providing minimum health and social services, especially at the local level; ®step up efforts to establish solid anti-discrimination case-law; enact the sub-legal acts related to the Law on Social Housing, which also foresees 5% of housing to be reserved for the most vulnerable members of the Roma and Egyptian communities; ®swiftly adopt the full package of secondary legislation related to the 2017 framework Law on the Protection of National Minorities; ®further consolidate the entrenchment of property rights, notably by advancing the revision of property deeds, implementing the compensation scheme, and making the necessary progress on the digitalising and mapping of property. Albania complies overall with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions. It has yet to ratify 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. Albania has made efforts to address human rights and to fulfil the obligations that arise from international legal instruments. However, the implementation of such instruments should be improved. Assessing the level of implementation of policies, analyses and strategies remains a challenge due to the absence of comprehensive monitoring and data. It is therefore important to develop comprehensive reports and critical analysis. An inter-institutional action plan (2018-2020) on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 was adopted in September 2018. Albania underwent its third Universal Periodic Review cycle in May 2019. Albania is in the process of becoming an observer to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Albania continues to ensure good cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights. Between 1 January and 31 December 2018, the Court delivered nine judgments on Albania, seven of which found that Albania had violated rights guaranteed by the ECHR. The majority of cases are related to the right to a fair trial. On 20 September 2018, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to close the examination of 16 cases on the Driza Group and Manushaqe Puto. On the promotion and enforcement of human rights, the Ombudsman has been awarded ‘A’ status by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions since 2014. During the reporting period, all five vacant positions for Commissioners have been filled. In 2018, the Ombudsman submitted a total of 171 recommendations, of which 93 were accepted, 17 were rejected, five went without response, and 56 remain in process. Effective implementation of the Ombudsman’s recommendations by the public administration remains to be strengthened and made more systematic. In October 2018, the Ombudsman launched an online mobile application to which citizens can submit complaints about human rights violations and corruption. In November 2018, the Ombudsman launched an ex-officio administrative inquiry into the new ring-road demolition case, noting that central and local government bodies had failed to address earlier recommendations on similar demolitions. The Ombudsman called for the planned demolitions to be preceded by consultations with the affected residents, and also recommended that the necessary construction permit should be issued before this infrastructure project is allowed to proceed. A comprehensive targeted approach is necessary to strengthen the capacities of the Ombudsman and of the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination in handling cases of human rights violations. This will include ensuring an appropriate budget for the former. In this regard, guidance is provided by the European Commission’s Recommendation on standards for equality bodies, adopted on 22 June 2018.

On the right to life, following a visit to the country in December 2016, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Voluntary Disappearances (WGEID) issued several recommendations for Albania to address the crimes committed during the communist regime. A cooperation agreement with the International Commission for Missing Persons (ICMP) was signed in July and ratified by the Albanian Parliament in November 2018, allowing the ICMP to start collecting DNA samples with financial support from the EU. On the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, the National Preventive Mechanism conducted 51 inspections in 2018, resulting in 51 recommendations. During this period, two complaints of violence in police facilities and penitentiary institutions were processed. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) visited the country in February 2017 and subsequently published a report. Particular attention was paid to the treatment and conditions of detention of persons in police custody and the situation of remand prisoners and forensic psychiatric patients. The recommendations issued by the CPT have only been partially implemented by the Albanian authorities. As recommended by the CPT and the European Commission, the government has started preparing plans for the establishment of a special institute for the treatment of persons with mental illness in prison. Preparation of these plans should be accelerated. In November 2018, the Ombudsman carried out an inspection at the Burrel prison. The Ombudsperson reiterated that this correctional facility should be closed because of its poor state. On the prison system, a strategic action plan to improve detention conditions was adopted in 2014 but its implementation was not monitored. A new action plan is currently being drafted for 2019-2022. Legislation on prisons and prison police should be amended to ensure compliance with European standards. With the opening of the new EU-funded prison in Shkodra, there has been some progress in addressing overcrowding in prisons. In total, the number of inmates decreased by 8%. During the reporting period, the newly appointed director of the Prison Directorate was dismissed on corruption charges. Several former prison directors and prison police officers have also been charged, and are under investigation for abuse of office and corruption. Training for prison personnel was carried out by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior. There was also training for prison personnel as part of EU and Council of Europe projects. The use of alternatives to custody has increased compared with the previous reporting period. There were 6 171 cases of non-custodial alternatives in 2018 and 4 904 in 2017. The use of electronic monitoring has been suspended since 2017 because of a legal dispute. The specialist monitoring of convicts by the Probation Service slightly decreased from 85 in 2017 to 82 in 2018. On the protection of personal data, the capacities of the office of the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Data Protection need to be adequate to perform its tasks effectively. In 2018, the Commissioner received 170 complaints from data subjects, carried out 190 administrative inspections, issued 30 decisions, and imposed 61 administrative sanctions, which represent an increased activity compared to 2017. Further efforts are needed to align the personal data protection legislation with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 and the Police Directive 2016/680. Albania has not yet signed or ratified the 2018 Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion was generally upheld, and there continued to be good relations overall between religious affiliations and practices. However, the restitution of properties belonging to religious groups remains an issue. The government allocated EUR 880,000 to support the five official religious communities in May 2018. The religious communities – the Muslim Community, the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, the Bektashi Community and the Evangelical Fraternity – have jointly expressed strong public support for Albania’s EU integration process. In May, the religious communities in Albania signed a joint statement pledging their engagement in interreligious dialogue. The Interreligious Council, a forum for the country’s religious leaders to discuss shared concerns, has increased its activities. In April, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, paid his very first visit to the country. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom of expression The country has some level of preparation / is moderately prepared in the area of freedom of expression. There was limited progress over the reporting period. Threats and intimidating language against journalists have increased, although these acts have been systematically condemned. There have been some convictions on past and current cases. During the reporting period, financial resources and staff levels at the audiovisual media regulator were reinforced. The new Code of Ethics for journalists was launched in March 2018 and incorporates ethical guidelines for online media. The overall legislative environment is conducive to the exercise of freedom of expression, but implementation of this legislation remains a challenge. Ownership of audio-visual media and the transparency of media funding and public advertising remain key issues. Self-regulation in online media needs to be ensured. Legislation on public advertising needs to be introduced to improve transparency in line with international best practices. In the coming year, Albania should in particular: ®ensure implementation of the Labour Code and strengthen the protection of Albanian journalists’ labour and social rights; ®bring the legal requirements for transparency of media ownership and its limitations into line with international standards; ®introduce legislation in line with international best practice on public advertising to increase transparency. Intimidation of journalists During the reporting period, there were two cases of physical assaults against journalists, reported respectively in June and September 2018. In addition, in August bullets were fired on the parental home of an investigative journalist, while a television programme moderator received a threat in December. Media associations and public authorities resolutely condemned these attacks. Investigations were launched, but there have been no arrests on these cases so far. In May, a politician was convicted in relation to a defamation case involving a journalist, while a first instance court dismissed a defamation case against two investigative journalists. A total of 13 cases in which journalists or newspapers were parties in the judicial process were registered in first instance courts in 2018 with 10 first instance court rulings. In addition, there were 7 cases registered in appeal courts in 2018 with 1 ruling. Albania should further strengthen its efforts to ensure a policy of zero tolerance for intimidation of journalists and threats against the media, including in political discourse. Legislative environment The Constitution and relevant laws are in line with international human rights law. They guarantee individual liberties, including the right to privacy and freedom of expression. They also include sanctions against incitement to hatred. Defamation remains a criminal offence, although it does not carry a prison sentence. However, journalists convicted of defamation are at risk of fines. In December 2018, the government announced a package of amendments to the Law on Audiovisual Media and the Law on Electronic Communications, and a public consultation on these amendments was held in January 2019. It is important that the opinions of the relevant stakeholders, including the media sector, are taken into account before any new measure is adopted. Specific concerns have also been raised by the international community. Among others, these concerns included the scope of the definition of electronic publication, the extent of the domain registration obligation, and the implications of failure to register. The package of amendments is currently being reviewed for alignment with the EU acquis and European standards. Albania still needs to introduce legislation strengthening transparency in public advertising. Access to information about procurement contracts, audits and salaries of officials should be strengthened. Decisions of the Commissioner for the Right to Information are nonbinding on public administration officials. Implementation of legislation/institutions

The Audio-visual Media Authority (AMA), the regulatory authority in the field of audio and visual broadcasting services, approved its 2017-19 strategic action plan in March 2017. The funding of the AMA has been doubled, and it has changed its structure to focus more strongly on supervisory and inspection activities to identify illegal broadcasting. The AMA’s activities are subject to parliamentary oversight by the Committee on Education and Public Information Means. The new deadline set by the AMA for the digital switchover process is September 2019. The infrastructure to access digital broadcasting is generally already in place. However, the AMA has postponed the deadline of the digital switchover in Tirana and Durres due to the scarcity of DVB-T2 digital decoders on the market and the associated public discontent. These events indicated a shortcoming in the AMA’s role in the management of the process as well as a lack of public awareness about the digital switchover. Public service broadcaster The public broadcaster RTSH has a new internal structure that reflects the digital switchover process. RTSH has developed and approved editorial principles to guard against political interference. RTSH still needs to ensure its financial sustainability. In June 2018, private broadcasters pushed for changes to the Audio-visual Media Law, which would have allowed for part of the TV licence fee to be diverted from the public broadcaster to private TV channels. The proposed amendments were opposed by international actors, the public broadcaster, and media organisations. The initiative was rejected by the government. Economic factors Oversaturation of the media landscape and opaque media ownership create concerns about fair competition for independent media organisations. The editorial direction of private media continues to be the subject of political and business interests. Media funding remains key to improving media freedom, especially given new challenges such as fake news and third-party influence. Self-censorship and the precarious nature of employment for journalists remain issues of concern. Internet In October 2018, the regulatory Authority for Electronic and Postal Communications (AKEP) warned that 44 online portals would be shut down if they were not registered within 72 hours with the National Business Centre and if they failed to publish their respective tax number/business registration number. As mentioned above, the recently proposed amendments to the media law legal framework include the obligation of online media registration, the scope of which remains to be clarified. Professional organisations and working conditions Job security for journalists needs to be strengthened. Media owners do not formalise work contracts and the Labour Code needs to be properly implemented for journalists. A recent survey supported by the EU indicates that employment in the media sector continues to be problematic, with one third of respondents stressing that they do not currently have a work contract. More than half of the respondents claimed that the salary they received was lower than the average salary in the public sector and the same proportion complained of delays in receiving their salaries in a timely manner. Delays that last for several months are regularly reported. The AMA, together with the Parliamentary Media Committee, is pressuring the authorities to properly implement the Labour Code for journalists. However, institutional steps to ensure this implementation need to be more concrete. (See also Chapter 10 - Information society and media) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freedom of assembly and association are provided for in the Constitution and legislative framework and are broadly in line with international standards. Assemblies are regulated by the Law on Assemblies which, although largely in line with the Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly of the OIDHR, needs to address the right to spontaneous assemblies and counter–assemblies. During the reporting period, freedom of assembly and association were generally respected. However, incidents have been registered in some protests and political demonstrations. Issues of labour and trade union rights are further covered in Chapter 19 - Social policy and employment. On property rights, progress has yet to be made towards improving the legal framework for registration, expropriation and compensation. In February 2019, the Parliament approved the Law on Cadastre. Albania should conclude first registration of property titles in all its territory. The decision on the registration and management of land located in the coastal area adopted by the government in November 2018 and contested by stakeholders has been amended. There are 572 cases pending before the ECtHR, most of which are related to property and due legal process in property-related cases. On 20 September 2018, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued a Resolution in which it decided to close the monitoring of the Driza group and Manushaqe Puto cases. The total fund for compensating property owners amounts to approximately EUR 700 million. Around EUR 17 million have already been disbursed. Further progress is dependent on the budget allocation for integrated land management and on follow-up legislation. Prior to the creation of the State Cadastre Agency, the Agency for the Treatment of Property treated 3 000 applications in the course of 2018, while 6 950 are still pending. On non-discrimination, the policy and legal framework is generally aligned with EU standards. The Law on protection against discrimination does not address the concept of multiple discriminations. The implementation of the anti-discrimination legal framework needs to be strengthened by the continuous provision of specialised training to judges and prosecutors. In 2018, the Commissioner for Protection against Discrimination (CPD) handled an increased number of cases of alleged discrimination (205 cases handled in 2018, against 173 in 2017), out of which 179 complaints and eight ex-officio. The Commissioner participated in 66 judicial proceedings (53 in 2017) and imposed seven penalties (against 11 in 2017). The local offices of the CPD, opened in three main cities, are now fully operational. The capacity of the CPD has been strengthened with additional staff and with an increased budget. Laws on hate speech are in line with international standards. Three cases of hate speech were registered during the year, and related complaints were submitted to the CPD on minority, gender and sexual orientation grounds. Awareness campaigns were organised across the country, but much remains to be done to eliminate the stigma of being discriminated against, particularly in rural and remote areas. The effective implementation of the national strategy and action plan 2016-2020 on gender equality is hampered by a persistent funding gap. At central level, the deputy Prime Minister has been nominated as the National Coordinator for Gender Equality. More efforts are required to ensure that the gender equality mechanism is fully operational and that all sectoral strategies at central and local level are gender mainstreamed and apply gender responsive budgeting. In July 2018, Albania progressed in tackling gender-based violence by amending the Law on Measures against Violence in Family Relations. The changes introduced are in line with the Istanbul Convention and the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Violence against Women. The law has strengthened protection measures for survivors of violence. It is important that implementation of the new legislative framework starts swiftly, as domestic violence remains a serious concern. In 2018, there was evidence of 4 951 cases of domestic violence. In 1 914 cases, the required investigative and procedural acts were referred to the prosecution office to initiate criminal proceedings. 608 alleged perpetrators were arrested, 77 were detained, and 688 prosecuted at large. 541 cases of other criminal offences related to family relationships were reported. In 2018, 60 women and girls were identified and referred to relevant services as victims or potential victims of human trafficking. While the number of local referral mechanisms for reporting gender-based violence has increased to 39 municipalities out of 61, efforts should be stepped up to set up and make these referral mechanisms functional in all municipalities. There are several women’s organisations that operate shelters for victims of domestic violence, but they have limited hosting and financing capacity. Women from disadvantaged and marginalised groups, such as Roma and Egyptian women, are often unaware of their rights and how to access services, including shelters. Effective implementation of the free legal aid system and the promotion of legal awareness and empowerment will be essential to ensure women’s access to justice. In September 2018, the government adopted its first national action plan to transpose UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. During 2018, Albania’s parliamentary subcommittee on gender equality and its Women Caucus continued to step up efforts in the area of gender equality legislation. A new health and psychosocial centre for victims of sexual abuse is now open and its service delivery standards have been adopted. On the rights of