EUROPEAN COMMISSION Strasbourg, 19.10.2021 SWD(2021) 289 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Albania 2021 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 2021 Communication on EU Enlargement Policy











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

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

Chapter 29: Customs union Cluster 4: The Green agenda and sustainable connectivity Chapter 14: Transport Chapter 15: Energy Chapter 21: Trans-European networks Chapter 27: Environment and climate change Environment Cluster 5: Resources, agriculture and cohesion Chapter 11: Agriculture and rural development Chapter 12: Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy Chapter 13: Fisheries Chapter 22: Regional policy and coordination of structural instruments Chapter 33: Financial and budgetary provisions Cluster 6: External relations Chapter 30: External relations Chapter 31: Foreign, security and defence policy Annex I – Relations between the EU and Albania



1.Introduction

1.1. Context Albania has continued to implement the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and the meetings of the joint bodies under the agreement took place. On 25 March 2020, the Council decided – and the members of the European Council endorsed this decision – to open accession negotiations with Albania. The Council tasked the Commission to report on a number of issues to be addressed by Albania prior to the first Inter-governmental Conference on accession negotiations. Overall, and despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Albania has continued to show its commitment to EU oriented reforms and delivered tangible and sustainable results. It has fulfilled all the conditions set out in the Council Conclusions of March 2020 for the first Inter-governmental Conference. In October 2020, the Commission adopted the enlargement package and assessed that the condition related to the functioning of the Constitutional Court was close to being met, while all the other conditions to be fulfilled prior to the holding of the first Inter-Governmental Conference on accession negotiations were met. The Constitutional Court regained functionality in December 2020. Meanwhile, Albania has continued to meet all other conditions and has made further considerable, steady progress in addressing the other priorities highlighted by the Council. The COVID-19 pandemic continued throughout the reporting period. By early October 2021, Albania had recorded 171,794 cases and over 2,710 deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission has redirected EUR 50.6 million in grants to meet the most immediate needs and provide a socio-economic response to the pandemic. The Commission also provided macro-financial assistance of EUR 180 million through a very favourable loan; the first instalment (EUR 90 million) was disbursed in March 2021. Together with the donation of medical equipment, the continued delivery of EU-funded vaccines is a tangible sign of EU solidarity. Albania has a countrywide vaccination strategy. Around 26% of the population was fully vaccinated by early September. It received 143,910 Pfizer/BioNTech doses from the EU between May and August 2021, facilitated by Austria and funded by the EU4Health grant, and EU Member States delivered 310,000 doses by end September 2021. The EU supported COVAX initiative also delivered over 143,400 doses to Albania in the same period. 1.2. Summary of the report As regards the political criteria, general elections were held on 25 April 2021, following the cross-party agreement of 5 June 2020 that led to a wide-ranging electoral reform, in line with OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. Electronic identification of voters was implemented in 97% of polling stations, while e-voting and e-counting was piloted successfully in 32 polling stations in Tirana. The OSCE/ODIHR final assessment found that elections were generally well organised. The new electoral administration gained the trust of most stakeholders. Concerns remained related to the misuse of public resources or official functions, to allegations of vote buying, and to the leaking of sensitive personal data covering the political preferences of citizens. These cases are being investigated. Parliament continued to work under the restrictions brought in due to the pandemic. With regard to EU oriented reforms, Parliament adopted a number of significant pieces of legislation, in areas such as asylum, the population census, and the efficiency of the judiciary. Throughout the reporting period, the government maintained a focus on reforms required for the country’s path towards the EU, despite the challenge of addressing the negative social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the new legislature, the majority and the opposition will need to improve political dialogue and work together with all parts of society to further advance the EU reform agenda and accession negotiations. Coordination within the administration needs to be improved, notably regarding EU integration. The territorial administrative reform should be further consolidated as part of the wider decentralisation agenda. This is particularly necessary to guarantee local fiscal autonomy and empower municipalities to provide good quality public services. Limited progress has been made to implement the roadmap on creating an enabling environment for civil society. Nonetheless, Albanian civil society has been able to provide support and services to most vulnerable people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Albania is moderately prepared with the reform of its public administration. Some progress was made in building capacity in line ministries to implement regulatory impact assessments, adopting guidelines for public consultations, setting up the IT systems for integrated planning, increasing the implementation rate of the National European Integration Plan, increasing the number of e-services, and completing the testing phase to automate the payroll system. Implementation of the 2015-2022 public administration reform (PAR) and the 2014-2022 public financial management (PFM) reform strategies has continued despite the impact of the pandemic. Albania’s judicial system is also moderately prepared. Albania has continued to implement the comprehensive justice reform, resulting in good progress. In particular, it reached an important milestone at the end of 2020, with the appointment of three new judges to the Constitutional Court. With seven judges in office, the Constitutional Court regained its necessary quorum of minimum six members to hold plenary sessions, thus being fully operational and meeting the related outstanding condition for the first IGC, which continues to be fulfilled. The Constitutional Court has started to fully exercise its functions, including by adjudicating on constitutional disputes between state institutions about respective competences. Progress also continued on High Court appointments. The High Court regained its quorum in March 2020. With the promotion by the High Judicial Council of six new judges in March and July 2021 it has reached nine sitting judges, which make it fully operational - a condition for the first IGC, which continues to be fulfilled. Further appointments to the High Court are expected. The Parliament adopted amendments to ten laws aiming to further strengthen the efficiency of the judicial system and its capacity to tackle corruption and organised crime. The temporary re-evaluation of all judges and prosecutors (vetting process) has advanced steadily, continuing to deliver tangible results - a condition for the first IGC, which continues to be fulfilled. Under the aegis of the European Commission, the International Monitoring Operation has continued to oversee the process. As of 15 September 2021 the vetting institutions had completed 437 cases at first instance, including all priority files. Of the 437 decisions, 298 are final (i.e. after appeal). Overall, 62 % of the vetting files processed so far have resulted in dismissals and terminations largely due to resignations by the assessees. The vetting institutions are expected to continue to refer to the prosecution services all cases where there are indications of criminal offences. The Specialised Structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK), comprising the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), are operational - a condition for the first IGC, which continues to be fulfilled. While the 2021 budget foresees the appointment of 20 prosecutors, the SPO has reached the first target of 15 prosecutors, including the Chief Special Prosecutor. The first round of recruitment for NBI investigators resulted in the appointment of 28 investigators, who, after an intense training programme, are now operational. A second round to recruit an additional 32 investigators was opened in April 2021 and is expected to be concluded before the end of the year. Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. It made some progress in strengthening the fight against corruption - a condition for the first IGC, which continues to be fulfilled. Overall, the implementation of the Inter-sectoral Strategy against Corruption is on track. Although the vetting of the members of the judiciary is an administrative process, it is yielding results in the fight against corruption as judges and prosecutors dismissed, as a result of vetting, are brought to justice. Albania has made further efforts to create a solid track record in the fight against corruption, although it remains an objective that requires political will and further structured and consistent actions. Convictions in cases involving high-level officials still remain limited, fostering a culture of impunity within the higher levels of the State. The specialised structures against anti-corruption (SPAK and the anti-corruption and organised crime courts) should significantly strengthen the country’s overall capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption. Overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas of public and business life and remains an issue of serious concern. Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against organised crime. It made good progress to meet last year’s recommendations. It achieved tangible results in the fight against organised crime, including by stepping up cooperation with EU Members States and Europol - a condition for the first IGC, which continues to be fulfilled. The country continued to implement the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan to improve effectiveness in the field of anti-money laundering and the package of temporary preventive measures to boost its capacity to counter criminal organisations (Operation Force of Law) throughout the year. Exchange of qualitative information and joint police operations involving international partners further intensified. Albania has continued to show its commitment to counter the production and trafficking of drugs, as air monitoring by EU member state law enforcement services has continued. The new specialised system against organised crime and corruption enables reinforced cooperation between police and prosecution services. Financial investigations need to accompany systematically criminal proceedings. Efforts need to continue to increase the number of prosecutions and final convictions, especially at high-level. Albania adopted a new national cross-sector counter-terrorism strategy and action plan in December 2020 and made very good progress in implementing the bilateral arrangement with the EU on operationalising the Joint Action Plan on counter-terrorism for the Western Balkans. More efforts are needed to tackle cybercrime, trafficking in human beings and money laundering cases. On fundamental rights, Albania complies with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions related to the protection of fundamental rights. Albania has pursued efforts to meet its obligations under these instruments. As regards the adoption of the remaining implementing legislation related to the 2017 framework law on the protection of national minorities, it adopted an additional by-law on minority education in December 2020, which brought the number of adopted by-laws to eight. The remaining implementing legislation, including on self-identification and use of minority languages, has yet to be adopted. Efforts are ongoing to implement a comprehensive land sector reform and to consolidate property rights. A population census law was adopted. Albania has some level of preparation / is moderately prepared in the area of freedom of expression. There was no progress over the reporting period. The atmosphere of verbal attacks, smear campaigns and acts of intimidation against journalists has not improved. Tensions between political actors and journalists have increased during the COVID-19 crisis and in the context of the parliamentary elections. The reported attacks against journalists have not resulted in any final convictions. Self-regulation in online media needs to be ensured. Steps to make the audio-visual regulatory authority fully operational need to be taken in a way that ensures its independence and legitimacy. The public service broadcaster’s independence, professional standards and financial sustainability need to be strengthened. Following the unfavourable opinion of the Venice Commission and wide criticism on draft amendments to the media law aimed at regulating online media and some aspects of defamation, representatives from the ruling majority publicly committed to ensure that any new legislation on media would be in line with the Venice Commission recommendations and submitted to consultation with media organisations. The government reconsidered the matter and the Assembly did not revert to the issue. The parliament and government resulting from the 25 April elections must uphold the commitment to ensure that any possible changes to the media law would be in line with the Venice Commission Opinion and submitted to proper consultations. On gender equality, the implementation of the national strategy and action plan 2016-2020 on gender equality was hampered by a persistent funding gap. A new strategy on gender equality 2021-2030 was adopted in June 2021. Albania should make efforts to ensure adequate state funding to implement it at central and local levels. Efforts are also required to ensure that all national strategies at central and local level are gender mainstreamed and apply gender responsive budgeting. On migration, the legal framework on migration is largely aligned with the EU acquis but needs updating in line with recent developments. In February 2021, Albania adopted a new law on asylum. Strategies on an integrated border management and on the diaspora were adopted in 2020. Implementation of the national migration strategy and action plan for 2019-2022 as continued, providing a clear framework for managing and coordinating migration flows and the Commission has issued four monitoring reports. Despite border closure during March-May 2020, Albania continued to experience a growing influx of irregular migrants, mostly from Greece and leaving Albania after a few days, on the way to other EU countries. The number of irregular migrants apprehended in Albania in 2020 increased by 13% compared with 2019. The number of Albanian citizens lodging asylum requests in EU Member States decreased by 66% in 2020 compared to 2019, from 20,415 to 6,935 applications, according to Eurostat data. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed in large part to this sharp decrease, but it can be noted that the average decrease of applications from the rest of the world to the EU is much smaller (-33%). The ‘recognition rate’ in 2020 was around 4.4% compared with 5.3% in 2019. Since applications peaked in 2017 in the most affected Member State, the number of applications has fallen from 12,130 in 2017 to 2,985 in 2020. Three Albanian police liaison officers are deployed in the EU and a liaison officer from the EU works in Tirana to help with exit checks. The issue of Albanian nationals making unfounded asylum applications to EU Member States and Schengen-associated countries still requires substantial efforts from the Albanian authorities. In addition to information campaigns, thorough border checks, awareness-raising on rights and obligations under the visa-free regime, identifying and addressing the underlying reasons, dialogue and cooperation with the countries most affected have continued. The Commission is monitoring the trend very closely in the framework of the post-visa liberalisation monitoring mechanism. As regards the economic criteria, Albania made some progress and is moderately prepared in terms of developing a functioning market economy. Hit by the double shock from the earthquake of November 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic, GDP contracted in 2020, although by less than initially expected. The pandemic-related domestic lockdown and international travel restrictions caused significant losses for the tourism and manufacturing sectors, but the economy started to rebound in the second half of the year. Within the limited fiscal and monetary policy space available, the government and the central bank took swift and appropriate actions to support business, households and the health sector. This cushioned the impact on the labour market and maintained macroeconomic and financial sector stability. It also pushed up the public debt and deficit ratios and increased the country’s vulnerability to external shocks. Dealing with the double shock stretched the capacity of the administration, but it largely maintained business continuity, and work continued on most ongoing reforms and legislative initiatives.

Albania made some progress and has some level of preparation in its capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU. It has made improvements on energy and transport infrastructure, the use of digital communication and on education outcomes, but significant gaps remain in comparison to its regional and European peers. Albania’s competitiveness is hindered by a lack of entrepreneurial and technological know-how, significant levels of informality, unmet investment needs in human and physical capital, and low spending on R&D. Pre-existing and significant gaps in skills and education have probably widened due to COVID-19 related lockdowns and distance learning, which is not accessible to all. Regional integration and exports increased, but remained below potential. The lack of product and geographical diversification in Albania’s exports compound its vulnerability to external shocks. On public procurement, where Albania is moderately prepared, the country has made good progress, in particular by adopting the new law on public procurement. On statistics, where Albania is also moderately prepared, it made some progress on aligning with ESA 2010 standards, faster publication, and the adoption of the Population Census Law. Albania is moderately prepared in most areas on financial control, where the country made some progress, notably on public internal financial control and external audit. Albania is moderately prepared in most of the areas of the internal market, namely the free movement of goods, services and capital, competition policy, and financial services. It has made some progress in particular by adopting a law on compulsory insurance in transport and in further aligning its banking legislation, but the State Aid Commission needs to be made independent and sufficiently resourced. Preparations are at an early stage on consumer and health protection, as the country made no progress on health outside its COVID-19 response. Albania needs to implement the One Health approach and to ensure that everyone has quality healthcare coverage. This policy cluster is key for Albania’s preparations to meet the requirements of the EU’s internal market and is of high relevance for early integration and the development of the Common Regional Market. Albania has achieved a moderate level of preparation in many areas linked to competitiveness and inclusive growth, namely information society and media, taxation, economic and monetary policy, enterprise and industrial policy, education and culture, and the customs union. The country has some level of preparation in social policy and employment, and in science and research. Albania has made some progress in particular with the Smart Specialisation Strategy and in its participation in the Horizon 2020 research programme, but progress was limited on economic and monetary policy and customs union during the reporting period. Socio-economic reforms must be pursued to help address the existing structural weaknesses, low competitiveness, high unemployment, and the impact of the pandemic. Albania is moderately prepared in most areas related to the Green Agenda and sustainable connectivity, namely the trans-European networks, energy, and environment and climate change. It has some level of preparation in the area of transport policy. The country has made some progress in most areas in particular through revised transport planning and energy connectivity. More efforts are needed to improve the performance of ships under the Albanian flag and to enforce energy and environmental legislation, not least in the protected areas. The green transition and sustainable connectivity are key to economic integration within the region and with the European Union, facilitating cross-border trade within the region and creating real benefits for businesses and citizens. This cluster and the reforms concerned have significant links to Albania’s Economic Reform Programme, the Commission’s Economic and Investment Plan and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans endorsed by Albania in December 2020. Albania has some level of preparation in most areas linked to resources, agriculture and cohesion, namely agriculture and rural development, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, fisheries, and financial and budgetary provisions. It is moderately prepared as regards regional policy and coordination of structural instruments. Albania has made good progress in the area of fisheries, having reactivated the vessel monitoring system (VMS). It has made some progress on financial and budgetary provisions, on agriculture and rural development, and food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, but the farm register needs to be set up. It has made limited progress on regional policy and the coordination of structural funding instruments. In this respect, inter-agency coordination for pre-accession assistance needs improvement, and issues need to be addressed as regards strategic planning, implementation and monitoring capacity of infrastructure projects under the Economic and Investment Plan. Albania has reached a good level of preparation as regards external relations, foreign security and defence. As regards the external relations chapter of negotiations, Albania made good progress and reached a good level of preparation, not least by adopting and ratifying additional protocols to the Central European Free Trade Agreement and by certifying first authorised economic operators (AEO). It has worked on extending the Green Lanes/Corridors with EU Member States. The country has also delivered policy measures on humanitarian aid and on development aid. The country held a successful chairmanship of CEFTA. As regards the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, it continued to maintain full alignment with all relevant EU decisions and declarations. The country held the OSCE’s chairmanship-in-office in 2020, demonstrating its commitment to multilateral cooperation. Albania continued to participate in EU crisis-management missions and operations. 2.Cluster 1: The Fundamentals of the Accession Process 2.1. Functioning of democratic institutions and Public Administration Reform 2.1.1 Democracy General elections were held on 25 April 2021, following the cross-party agreement of 5 June 2020 that led to a wide-ranging electoral reform. Electronic identification of voters was implemented in 97% of polling stations, while e-voting and e-counting was piloted successfully in 32 polling stations in Tirana. The OSCE/ODIHR final assessment found that elections were generally well organised. The new electoral administration gained the trust of most stakeholders. Concerns remained related to the misuse of public resources and functions, to allegations of vote buying, and to the leaking of sensitive personal data covering political preferences of citizens. These are being investigated. Parliament work continued under restrictions imposed by COVID-19 pandemic. With regard to EU oriented reforms, Parliament adopted a number of significant pieces of legislation, amongst others on asylum, the population census, or the efficiency of the judiciary. The Albanian government maintained a focus on reforms on the country’s EU path, despite the challenge of addressing the negative social and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the consequences of November 2019 earthquake. The majority and the opposition will need to improve political dialogue and work together with all parts of society to further advance the EU reform agenda and accession negotiations. Elections On 6 September 2020, the President of the Republic decreed 25 April 2021 as the date of the next General Parliamentary Elections. Elections took place in the aftermath of Electoral Code amendments adopted on 23 July 2020 codifying the wide, cross-party agreement of 5 June 2020, in line with OSCE/ODIHR recommendations - a condition for the first IGC, which continues to be fulfilled. On 30 July 2020, Parliament passed additional amendments to the Constitution, to allow for preferential voting. These changes, unrelated to OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, required further amendments to the Electoral Code, which were eventually passed on 5 October 2020. Political parties discussed the second set of amendments in the Political Council, but without reaching consensus before Parliament voted on them. The extra-parliamentary opposition decried these amendments as unilateral. The President questioned their constitutionality and addressed the Venice Commission for an urgent opinion. The Venice Commission rejected the urgency of the request and on December issued a joint opinion with OSCE/ODIHR. The joint opinion concluded that there was no ground to challenge the validity of 30 July amendments and the subsequent changes to the Electoral Code, albeit considering the process hasty and underscoring the importance of more comprehensive consultations. On 5 October 2020, the election management body was also reformed in line with 5 June agreement, consisting of a State Election Commissioner, a Regulatory Commission and a Complaints and Sanctions Commission. In November 2020, Parliament adopted amendments to the law on Political Parties to bring it in line with the Electoral Code. These provisions regulate public funding to parties participating in elections and electoral campaigns, the handling of private donations and loans, and prohibit the use of public resources to support electoral subjects. Provisions also address reporting and disclosure procedures, the auditing of campaign funds and expenses, and sanctions. Further technical amendments pursuant to the 5 June Agreement were adopted in December 2020. The Central Election Commission issued by-laws complementing this legal framework. A broader reform on political party financing, which is not part of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations on electoral reform, should be carried out during the new legislature. Following a tense electoral campaign, the elections were held on 25 April 2021, implementing the new electoral framework, which is in line with the recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR. Restrictions were imposed by the pandemic, including on suffrage rights. The Albanian authorities further followed up on all key aspects covered by the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. For the first time, electronic identification of votes was used in all 5199 polling stations, with less than 150 polling stations having to rely on paper-based identification. In addition, an e-voting and e-counting project was successfully tested in one constituency with 32 polling stations in Tirana and did not encounter any significant hurdle. The implementation of out of country vote was not possible, mostly due to the limited time available. In its final assessment of the electoral process, the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) acknowledged that the elections were generally well organised by the election administration. Stakeholders had sufficient confidence to participate in the elections and the reformed Central Election Commission (CEC) oversaw the election process in an organised and transparent manner. According to OSCE/ODIHR, there remained concerns related to the misuse of State resource and functions by the ruling party and other public figures, including pervasive allegations of vote buying and the leaking of sensitive personal data covering political preferences of citizens. The CEC’ Sanctions and Complaints Committee reviewed a number of cases of alleged electoral irregularities. Electoral results for nine constituencies were challenged in front of the Electoral College for a final review, which has ruled in all cases upholding the preliminary results. Separately, the prosecution offices have initiated criminal proceedings in more than 50 cases notably for pressure on electoral subjects, falsification of election material or results, and breach of secrecy of the vote. 38 cases are directly handled by the special anti-corruption structures, and the data leak case by the Public Data Commissioner (see Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights). The LEOM also noted that the main parties all attempted to augment the role and visibility of women as candidates in the campaign, and the mandatory 30% quotas in candidate lists were respected and, in most cases, exceeded. CEC data confirm that of the elected members of parliament 92 are men (65.7%) and 48 women (34.2%). Of the 1871 candidates registered, 732 were women. The electoral legislation needs to further clarify the sequencing of women candidates in lists to enhance their presence in winning positions and the representation of women in the election administration remains insufficient, with only 3 of the 12 CEC members. The new Parliament elected a woman as its Speaker on 10 September. Regarding the allegations of vote buying and offences committed in previous elections, four defendants were found guilty of electoral offences committed in the context of the general elections of 2017, four defendants were found guilty of falsification of election material and election results in the local elections of 2019, and punished by imprisonment. In June 2021, 21 polling station workers were sentenced to imprisonment for electoral crimes committed in 2017.

Parliament The Parliament continued working under restrictions imposed by COVID-19 pandemic. Most committee work took place virtually, while plenary sessions were conducted in person. The work of the parliamentary committees was livestreamed through a dedicated TV channel and on social media. During the reporting period, Parliament adopted a total of 280 legal acts, out of which 149 laws - mainly in view of April 2021 elections - and rejected 21 presidential decrees returning laws for review. As regards its role in EU integration, 16 of the laws passed in Parliament were aimed at alignment with the acquis. The National Council for European Integration still has to consolidate its role and guarantee its broader involvement in EU integration issues. With regard to EU oriented reforms, Parliament adopted on 23 March 2020 a broad set of amendments aimed at increasing the efficiency of the judiciary. With regard to Parliament’s oversight function, members of parliament made use of the instruments at the disposal of the opposition, tabling 18 ‘interpellations’, of which three were responded by the Prime Minister, showing an increasing trend from previous year. During the reporting period, Parliament appointed a new Head of the Supreme State Audit in July 2020, and two members of the Constitutional Court. In addition, Parliament appointed members of the Competition Authority, Financial Supervisory Authority, and filled vacancies on the steering board of the public broadcaster. On transparency and accountability, Parliament attempted to restrict physical access of reporters in the meetings of standing committees, and revised that decision later, following consultation with journalists. Parliamentary documentation, such as minutes of plenary sessions and committee meetings, leaves room for greater transparency. In addition, Parliament established a platform for the consultation of draft laws. Nevertheless, public consultation with civil society and interest groups remained formal and limited in its impact. The administration’s performance is still poor when it comes to implementing recommendations from the Ombudsman, showing a decreasing trend in the reporting period. (see more under Public Administration Reform) Governance The Albanian Government maintained a focus on reforms on the country’s EU path, despite the challenge of addressing the negative social and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the consequences of November 2019 earthquake. Coordination within the administration needs to be improved, especially regarding their involvement in EU integration processes. The territorial administrative reform should be further consolidated as part of the wider decentralisation agenda. This is particularly necessary to guarantee local fiscal autonomy and empower municipalities to provide good standard quality public services. In September 2020, the Prime Minister replaced the Minister for Education, Youth and Sports, while in December 2020, two waves of government reshuffle took place leading to the replacement of four ministers, including the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. On 18 September 2021, a new government was sworn in following the 25 April elections. It comprises 12 women out of 17 members. Six of the ministers did not seat in the previous government. In February 2021, the government adopted the National Plan for European Integration (NPEI) 2021-2023, currently under implementation. Greater efforts have been made in achieving a higher implementation rate of the NPEI during the reporting period, thanks to dedicated and effective steering and monitoring from the central government. However, EU integration features lower in the priorities set out in new government’s programme presented in September 2021.Consultations and stock taking on EU related matters continued between governmental and parliamentary actors with relevant stakeholders, including civil society organisations, under the framework of the National Council for European Integration, but remain unsystematic. Despite recent attempts to improve the overall governance arrangements on public consultations, the consultation on policies and legislation need to be more substantive so as to further enhance the inclusiveness and transparency of the reform process, in particular on issues related to EU oriented reforms (see Public Administration reform). In the reporting period a Chief Negotiator for negotiations with the EU assumed a novel role in the country’s EU related structures. Additional efforts are needed to improve further the coordination and streamlining between the EU negotiations structures, responsible for country’s preparation for accession negotiations, and other bodies. This concerns the roles of the team of the Chief Negotiator, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and their cooperation with structures responsible for sectoral policy planning, EU assistance, and monitoring. For the conduct of accession negotiations with the EU, the country needs to increase dedicated human and financial resources on EU accession across the administration and more importantly on the communication on the EU. A methodology should be in place to ensure that the EU is systematically consulted by the relevant authorities when drafting legislation in the remit of the EU acquis. The territorial administrative reform needs to be further consolidated as part of the wider decentralisation agenda. A systematic monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the national cross-cutting decentralisation and local governance strategy 2015-2022 is needed. The last such exercise was the strategy’s mid-term review including the period until 2018. While municipalities have been given greater policy making powers, local government units (LGUs) still lack sufficient financial resources and administrative capacity to exercise them effectively. Women representation in local government needs improvement. Although 44 per cent of local councillors' seats were won by women in the last local elections, only eight of the 61 municipalities are run by women. Municipalities need continued capacity building for their staff. LGUs’ fiscal autonomy is at risk, as most of their budget is dependent on national transfers. As a result, although the municipalities are getting better at collecting own revenues, the overall ability of local institutions to deliver quality public services remains limited. Their financial situation has been made ever more complicated by the pandemic, with resources available to LGUs further shrinking. Implementation of the Civil Service Law remains to be improved at the local level. Temporary contracts for civil service positions, although decreasing, continue to be rather frequent in the LGUs. 70 court rulings were issued during 2020 for reinstating of civil servants, bringing the total up to 222, with the percentage of decisions enforced decreasing from 59% in 2019 to 49.1% in 2020. The career development mechanism such as lateral transfer and promotion show for the first time signs of improvement. Despite the pandemic, municipalities have encouraged public participation in their decision-making through organising online Council meetings open to the public and other innovative means. However, the institutional framework for effective and inclusive participation needs further strengthening. Local-level implementation of the Law on public consultation remains unsatisfactory. On transparency, some improvement is noted as all 61 municipalities are now publishing online their Council’s decisions. Five municipalities have adopted and piloted integrity plans with measures to combat corruption at local level. Their implementation should be closely monitored and adoption of integrity plans in other municipalities encouraged. The Consultative Council operated as the main forum for institutional dialogue and coordination between central and local governments. The efficiency and effectiveness of its work needs to be strengthened. The process of implementing the Prime Minister's order on ‘matrix of competences’ which looks at responsibilities between level of governance while addressing the gaps or overlaps, is ongoing. No clear track record is available to date. The network of EU local coordinators has strengthened the LGUs’ involvement in the EU accession process, raising awareness of EU policies, the EU acquis, funds and programmes. 60 municipalities have implemented the Decision of the Council of Ministers from July 2018 institutionalising and upgrading the municipal "EU desks" into "EU Units". The Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and Economy drafted a Decision of the Council of Ministers to ensure co-financing and avoid other obstacles for Albanian municipalities to access funding from the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA); it is yet to be approved.

On territorial planning, the pandemic as well as the November 2019 earthquake raised the need to revise local plans to account in particular for civil protection elements. Coordination of the national sectoral strategies with local plans is weak. Civil society Limited progress has been made on the implementation of the roadmap on an enabling environment for civil society. The adoption of the Law on registration of Non Profit Organisations brings some improvements. The National Council for Civil Society remains weak and should be reformed to provide for appropriate representation of the Albanian civil society. Substantial efforts are needed to ensure meaningful and systematic consultations with civil society as part of an inclusive policy dialogue for reforms. The COVID-19 pandemic has further weakened the financial stability of the civil society, already weak due to unfavourable legal and fiscal framework. Despite this challenge, Albanian civil society has provided support and services to most vulnerable people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, complementing or sometimes replacing state interventions. Albania’s legal and regulatory framework on the right to freedom of assembly and association is generally in line with international standards. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary rules and protocols aimed at preventing the spread of the infection brought limitations to the freedom of assembly. The law on registration of Non-Profit Organisations, adopted in June 2021 aims at introducing an electronic register, which will ease the registration process and increase transparency and accuracy of the register of non governmental organisations (NGOs). It also aims at fulfilling the FATF Action Plan (see Chapter 24 – Justice, Freedom and Security). The roadmap on an enabling environment for civil society remains strongly dependent on donors’ support. The implementation of its measures is slow and no impact on the sector has been noticed so far. Additional efforts and resources are required to accelerate its implementation, in order to create a more conducive environment for the civil society to operate and to contribute to the adoption of sound policies and laws. While the 2014 Law on public consultation, laying down the procedural norms for transparency and public participation in decision-making, is generally in line with European standards, consultations often remain artificial exercises. In addition, the scope of the law needs to be extended to government decisions. The guidelines and monitoring framework for public consultation adopted in January aim to improve governance arrangements for a better implementation of the law (see also Public Administration reform). The ability of the National Council for Civil Society to voice priorities of civil society organisations (CSOs) in policy-making processes is still weak. The Law on the National Council has not been amended to reflect changes in ministerial portfolios and representation in the Council, and to improve its functioning. The Agency for the Support of Civil Society remains the main public body providing financial support for civil society, but its budget was reduced by 40% in 2020, making public funding insufficient to sustain CSOs’ activity, in particular in social services. There is yet no evidence of successful VAT refund with regard to the implementation of the instruction on VAT reimbursement for CSO beneficiaries of EU funding and other donor grants. Tax incentives for corporate donations do not promote donations to CSOs and there are no tax incentives 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 delivering on last year’s report recommendation by building capacity of line ministries to implement regulatory impact assessments, adopting guidelines for public consultations, establishing the IT systems for the integrated planning, increasing the implementation rate of the National European Integration Plan, increasing the number of e-services, and completing the testing phase of the automation of the payroll system. Implementation of the public administration reform and public financial management reform strategies has continued despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some progress was made on all the Commission’s 2020 recommendations, which remain partially valid. In the coming year, Albania should in particular: ®upgrade the regulatory framework on integrated policy planning and increase the capacities for policy planning and monitoring, by rolling out the integrated policy-making system; ®activate the mechanism foreseen in the law on the Organisation and Functioning of the State Administration by preparing the monitoring report on the status of the subordinated institutions; ®Encourage the merit-based implementation of the civil service law at all levels, especially at the local level where de-politicisation of civil service and also better training are needed, and adopt a salary policy for civil servants and extend the automation of the payroll system through the human-resource-management information system. Strategic framework for public administration reform Throughout 2020, the government continued to monitor the implementation of the 2015-2022 public administration reform (PAR) strategy and the 2014-2022 public financial management (PFM) reform strategy. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, Albanian institutions have done substantive efforts in maintaining a good implementation record of the public administration reform strategy. More needs to be done to achieve results-oriented monitoring, including analysis of performance. Political responsibility for PAR is assigned to the Deputy Prime Minister and technical support continues to be provided by the Department of Public Administration and the Department on Good Governance. However, the link between technical and political support for PAR needs to be strengthened. Financial sustainability needs to be improved, as the overall reform of public administration depends on external donor funding. Policy development and coordination The legal basis and the institutional set-up for a coherent policy making system are partially in place. Progress was made in rolling out the IT tool for an Integrated Planning System to automate the link between strategic policy planning and budgeting and increased number of trainings and trained civil servants in the area of strategic planning from previous year. Strengthened monitoring of and reporting on the annual analytical plan show an improved rate of implementation compared to the previous year. However, full integration and use of the IT pillars require further training and improvement of data collection and processing. Authorities need to upgrade the existing regulatory framework on medium-term policy planning, improve coherence between policy planning and budgeting, establish a dedicated central quality control function for policy planning and implementation. The quality of performance, relevance, inclusiveness and regularity of the integrated policy management groups mechanism varies across sectors and their role in policy coordination needs improvement. Further efforts are needed to upgrade the administrative capacity in both line ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office as well as to better define and implement policy planning and monitoring functions (see Chapter 32 Financial control). The Prime Minister’s Office rulebook remains to be adopted. In 2020, substantial progress was made in monitoring the execution of the National Plan for European Integration and the timely approval of the new plan for 2021-2022. The National Plan for European Integration implementation rate has improved to 87% from 60% in the previous year. Stronger coordination between the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance and Economy is needed to further support line ministries in the process of planning and costing more credibly the National Plan for European Integration and alignment with the annual analytical plan.

On inclusive and evidence-based policy and legislative development, the administration needs to strengthen its capacity. Further progress was achieved in increasing the usage and monitoring of regulatory impact assessments for legislative proposals and increased trainings in this area across the administration. The government needs to continue efforts in the institutionalisation of regulatory impact assessments, while also improving the central quality control function. Regarding public consultation, the electronic web-portal is operational and the regulatory framework improved through adoption of guidelines for preparing annual plans as well as reports in January. The number of legal acts passing public consultation and usage of electronic register has increased. The quality control function on public consultation needs to be strengthened to focus more on the content rather than on the process. Public scrutiny of government work remains limited. The role of parliamentary oversight of government performance, including sub-ordinated agencies, remains ad-hoc and needs to be increased. Most government policy reports continue to present implemented activities rather than results. Communication to the citizens of the ongoing reforms needs to be enhanced. Public financial management The Ministry of Finance and Economy leads the public financial management reform. Several posts remain unfilled in the Ministry. The extended PFM strategy for 2019-2022 was revised to address the impact of the pandemic and to gradually return, in the medium-term, to the original reform path. The revised strategy was approved and published in March 2021. The PFM monitoring report for 2020 is pending approval and publication. During the reporting period, the medium-term budget programme 2021-2023 was prepared, using the newly developed Albanian financial management information system, and duly adopted. The 2021 budget and the execution of the 2020 budget were in line with the revised Organic Budget Law. The draft medium-term revenue strategy is pending finalisation. Following public consultations, in November the first-ever public procurement strategy 2020-2023 and in December, a new public procurement law were adopted. All arrears are now recorded in a specific treasury account, and arrears reports are produced directly from the system. The Albanian supreme audit institution and the public procurement commission have newly appointed chair persons. (See also Chapters 5, 16, 29 and 32). Budget transparency remains satisfactory with the publication of all key budget documents, such as the annual budget, the citizens’ budget, and a list of public investments, including public-private partnerships (PPPs), under the medium-term budget programme. More timely publication of the budget execution reports, in particular reporting on arrears. Transparency across government continues to show varying levels. Public participation in the budget process needs to be further strengthened. Public service and human resources management Progress so far in merit-based recruitment, promotion and dismissal needs to be consolidated, in particular by addressing the fragmentation of the legislative framework, and applying uniform standards across the entire public administration. All the planned vacancies in 2020 were filled compared to 95% in 2019. However, line ministries need to report more accurately and timely on any open vacancies to the Department of Public Administration, for their inclusion in the overall annual recruitment plans. Better compliance is needed with the legal provisions regulating the organisation of recruitment procedures and the merit principle regarding for senior ranks and pooled recruitment for entry positions. Across the administration, job descriptions remain to be fully harmonised in accordance with the categories set out in the civil service law. Ad-hoc selection procedures continue to be used to hire young graduates in the public administration. Proper implementation of the civil service law requires more efforts, particularly at the local level. In 2020, the number of dismissals of civil servants decreased to 635 from 896 in 2019, but most continue to be justified by restructuring of institutions or reclassifying personnel as no longer part of the civil service. In the reporting period, the backlog in implementing court decisions confirming dismissal of civil servants as unlawful has been further reduced. The human resources management information system continues to be filled, but does not cover the entire public sector yet and remains to be extended to the local level. The government is putting measures in place for a coordination mechanism for the monitoring and evaluation of human resource management between central and local level. The Commissioner for Oversight of the Civil Service monitors the implementation of the civil service law at central and local level, but would need more staff and financial resources to better fulfil its oversight responsibilities. The remuneration system is based on a job classification system that requires further reform. The lack of a salary policy based on clear criteria for pay supplements and salary increases impairs the fairness and coherence of the system. The automation of the payroll system through human resources management information system needs to go beyond the testing phase and cover the entire public sector. The Albanian School of Public Administration training programmes continued to adapt the training programmes related to professional development of civil servants to the restrictions linked to the pandemic, resulting in an increase of training courses to previous year. The quality management cycle of the training offer remains to be established. The professional administrative capacity of local-level civil servants needs to be strengthened. The regulatory framework is in place to prevent corruption and to ensure the integrity of public officials and civil servants, but the institutional capacity for verifying assets and assessing conflict of interest declarations should be reinforced (see also Chapters 23 and 24). Accountability of the administration The legal framework for the organisation of the central administration does not establish coherent accountability lines and governance arrangements between supervisory and subordinated bodies. In recent years, subordinated bodies have been created without strategic planning, and led to the transfer of civil servants into employment under the labour code. Given the insufficient monitoring on status of subordinated agencies, the Department of the Public Administration should activate the mechanism foreseen by the Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the State Administration for preparing regular monitoring reports on the status of subordinated institutions. Additionally, policy making institutions do not always monitor policy implementation by their subordinated agencies and the latter do not always report on their performance. Future legal changes should improve the definition of functions in policy making and include requirements for planning and performance reporting by subordinated bodies and supervisory ministries. State administration workflow and decision making processes need to be improved. Managerial accountability within institutions is still focused on processes rather than the achievement of results, and not much decision‑making is delegated from top to middle management. Citizens’ right to good administration needs enhancement. The implementation rate of Ombudsman recommendations has slightly decreased in the reporting period from 62% to 55% and the Assembly needs to strengthen efforts in supporting the activities of the Ombudsman and of other public independent institutions with an oversight role. The Law on the Right to Information regulates citizens’ right to access public information. An increasing number of public authorities have adopted and published their transparency programmes. The role of the coordinators for the right to information within the public authorities should be strengthened by appointing senior officials in this role. In 2020, the number of public authorities having installed the electronic register of requests and responses doubled compared to the previous year. A legislative framework is in place for the right to administrative justice. The capacity of both the administrative court system and of the appeal panels to deal with the cases is limited, leading in 2020 to an increased time needed to solve the cases and increased backlog, respectively. Legislation is in place for protecting the right of citizens to seek compensation and is applied in practice in judicial cases. A lack of data collection makes it very difficult to assess the effectiveness of the liability regime. Service delivery to citizens and businesses Institutions and laws on public service delivery are in place to ensure user-oriented administration. In 2020, the number of one-stop-shops and e-services increased, even if at different levels of automation, and information to citizens on public services became more accessible. The roll-out of “front desks” delivering administrative services at local level now covers 59 of the 61 municipalities, and activities started to expand front desks to administrative units. National minimum standards for services still have to be established. An overall policy should be elaborated to guide the extension and integration of on-line and face-to-face services. Citizens’ data should be protected, following the highest standards of data protection. The Code of Administrative Procedures provides the legislative framework for simplifying administrative procedures in line with international standards. An action plan for implementation of the Code is in place. Despite higher training in civil service on the Code, legal uncertainty for citizens and businesses persists, as there were delays in harmonising sectoral laws and by-laws with the Code.

2.2. Rule of law and fundamental rights 2.2.1. Chapter 23: Judiciary and fundamental rights Albania has some level of preparation/is moderately prepared in implementing the EU acquis and European standards in this area. Good progress was made, in particular through continued implementation of the comprehensive justice reform. The Constitutional Court has regained full functionality with the appointment of three new judges. The High Court has increased its efficiency with the appointment of six additional judges. The vetting process continued to deliver tangible results. The legislative framework has been further strengthened to ensure a more efficient delivery of justice. Operational efforts against corruption are bringing some results. Additional efforts are needed to further increase seizure and confiscation of assets stemming from corruption, and to develop the track record in high-level cases. Regarding fundamental rights, there was progress in most areas, albeit efforts should continue on implementation. On property rights, progress should be made on further first registration of properties and transitional ownership processes, in a transparent and inclusive manner. As regards the protection of persons belonging to national minorities, Albania needs to adopt the remaining implementing legislation related to the 2017 Framework Law. Functioning of the judiciary Albania is moderately prepared on the functioning of the judiciary. Good progress was made, with the continued implementation of justice reform and the vetting process, which advanced steadily, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. An important milestone was reached at the end of 2020, with the appointment of three new judges to the Constitutional Court. With seven judges in office, the Constitutional Court has regained its necessary quorum of minimum six members to hold plenary sessions, thus being fully functional and meeting the related condition for the first IGC. Progress also continued on High Court appointments, with the promotion by the High Judicial Council of six new judges in March and July 2021. The Parliament adopted amendments to 10 laws aiming to further strengthen the efficiency of the judicial system and its capacity to tackle corruption and organised crime. The vetting process has continued to deliver concrete results, under the thorough supervision of the International Monitoring Operation (IMO). To date, 62% of the vetting dossiers processed have resulted in dismissals, resignations or termination of mandate. Magistrates dismissed by the vetting bodies are being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutor Office. The SPAK Court has seized assets of a former Prosecutor General as well as of two former Constitutional Court and one former High Court judges. The self-governance bodies of the judiciary have continued to fulfil their mandates. Limited progress was made on the recommendation to improve the case management system, which remains outstanding. Recommendations for the coming year: ®further advance the process of re-evaluating judges and prosecutors; ®continue to consolidate the capacity of the judicial system and the governance institutions, including by further strengthening the legal education system and by finalising and implementing the new judicial map; ®take decisive steps towards a roll-out of a new integrated case management system, and ensure its inter-operability across the entire justice system, in line with European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) methodology. The comprehensive transitional re-evaluation of all judges and prosecutors (vetting) advanced steadily and delivered tangible results despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Monitoring Operation (IMO), deployed under the aegis of the European Commission, continued to exercise independent oversight. As of 15 September 2021 the vetting institutions have completed 437 vetting cases at first instance, including all priority files. Of the 437 decisions, 298 decisions are final (i.e. after appeal). Overall, about 62 % of the vetting dossiers processed so far have resulted in dismissals and termination due to resignations by the assessees or reaching the retirement age. The breakdown of first instance decisions is as follows: 176 dismissals, mostly for issues relating to unjustified assets; 161 confirmations in office; 96 decisions on termination of the vetting proceedings; 2 decisions to suspend the assessees, with an obligation to attend training. The first‑instance vetting body (IQC) has formally initiated investigations in all 766 pending vetting cases. The International Monitoring Operation (IMO) has continued to perform its oversight role in the vetting process and issued opinions on first-instance assessments, including 18 recommendations for appeal and two dissenting opinions. The vetting institution of Public Commissioners has followed all recommendations for appeal. In March 2021, 12 additional legal advisors were appointed to the IQC and six additional legal officers to the Special Chamber of Appeals, which has had a positive impact on the pace of proceedings. The continuity and completion of the vetting process by the vetting bodies must be ensured, in the light of the constitutional mandate of the IQC members and Public Commissioners. On 9 February 2021 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in the case of Xhoxhaj v. Albania, finding that the vetting process against the former Constitutional Court judge had been in line with the general principles and rights enshrined by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and overall proportionate. The ruling became final on 31 May 2021. The vetting institutions are expected to continue to refer to prosecution services cases where there are indications of criminal offences. To date 23 files have been submitted to the Special Prosecution Office (SPO), including 10 cases involving former judges of the High Court and the Constitutional Court. Out of the 23 cases, 21 investigations are ongoing, one investigation has been closed and one has resulted in a conviction. 10 additional cases have been referred to the competent district prosecutors’ offices. Asset investigations are underway in all ongoing cases. Strategic documents The cross-sectoral 2017-2020 justice strategy and action plan have been updated and remain in force until the end of 2021. The Ministry of Justice has established the necessary inter-institutional coordination structures to support the implementation of the reform. The Strategy and its Action Plan 2021-2025 need to be adopted timely. Coordination mechanisms across the justice institutions, communication and transparency should be further enhanced. New specialised bodies he Specialised Structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK), comprising the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), are established and operational. The 2021 budget foresees an increase to a total of 20 prosecutors for the SPO. The first round of a transparent and merit-based recruitment process for NBI investigators resulted in the appointment of 28 investigators, who after an intensive three-month training, are operational. A second call for recruitment of an additional 32 investigators was opened on 6 April 2021 and is well under way. As foreseen by law, the development of the NBI continues to be followed by an International Commission comprised of two criminal justice experts nominated by the EU and two by the U.S. Government. On 23 March 2021, the Parliament adopted amendments, as part of a set of legislation on judicial efficiency, extending SPAK jurisdiction to all terrorist offences and removing petty corruption from their remit. Amendments on remuneration for staff of the NBI were also adopted. The first and second Instance Special Anti-corruption and Organised Crime Courts (SPAK Courts) continued hearing cases prosecuted by the SPO.

Judicial governance institutions The institutions for the self-governance of the judiciary, continued to be fully functional and operated effectively throughout the reporting period, including the High Judicial Council (HJC), High Prosecutorial Council (HPC) and the Justice Appointment Council (JAC). The HJC progressed with the appointments of judges in vacant positions created by the vetting process across the Courts and approved a considerable number of by-laws regulating activities of the judicial system and courts. The HPC has continued with the promotions of district prosecutors. The HJC needs to ensure the adoption of detailed regulatory acts and the HPC should ensure close cooperation with the General Prosecution in a more transparent manner. Independence and impartiality The legal and institutional framework put in place by the 2016 justice reform ensures strong independence and impartiality guarantees for magistrates. However, attempted internal and external interference with the judicial system continues to remain an issue of concern. Integrity and judge-craft should continue to remain the focus of training of magistrates. The random allocation of cases within the prosecution system still remains to be implemented as a matter of priority. Decisive and swift steps need to be taken towards the rollout of a new integrated case management system, to increase the efficiency and transparency of the justice system. Accountability The High Justice Inspector (HJI) has been fully performing its functions during the reporting period, notably by initiating and conducting disciplinary investigations against magistrates. Additional staff, premises and an increased budget has been allocated to HJI. The recruitment of additional inspectors is still required, as well as targeted measures to address the backlog of cases and allow the HJI to perform regular thematic inspections. During the reporting period, HJI has received 3 054 complaints of which 1 347 were inherited from the previous Inspectorate. HJI has handled 173 complaints and started eight investigations. The HJC and the HPC are responsible for approving and monitoring the ethics rules and code of conduct. The HJC has improved evaluation forms and adapted them to the new legal standards. It is important that evaluations be regularly conducted and the backlog is steadily reduced. The HJC dismissed two judges on the basis of HJI investigations and requests. The HPC should swiftly finalise the rules and procedures for evaluation of prosecutors. The HJI’s request to dismiss one prosecutor has been rejected by the HPC. HPC, HJC and HJI have regularly published their decisions and the minutes of their plenary meetings. Open access to reasoned court decision must be ensured, in compliance with data protection rules. Professionalism and competence The system for recruiting, selecting, appointing, transferring and dismissing judges and prosecutors is managed exclusively by the self-governing institutions of the judiciary. Constitutional and legal changes have reduced political influence during the appointment process, ensuring a merit-based career system. An important milestone was reached at the end of 2020, with the appointment of three new judges to the Constitutional Court. With seven judges in office, the Constitutional Court has regained its necessary quorum of minimum six members to hold plenary sessions, thus being fully functional and meeting the related condition for the first IGC. The appointments process for the remaining Constitutional Court positions is ongoing, and is expected to be finalised as soon as half of the High Court judges will have been appointed. From December 2020 until mid-June 2021, the Constitutional Court has adopted 27 decisions following plenary sessions, out of which 14 applications of non-constitutionality were accepted and 13 applications were rejected. The Court has started to fully exercise its functions, including by adjudicating on pending constitutional disputes of competence between state powers and institutions. Progress continued on High Court appointments, with the promotion by the HJC of six new judges in March and July 2021. With nine judges in office, the High Court disposes of the necessary quorum to perform its jurisdictional functions, including by ruling on recourses against the decisions of Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Specialised Courts and on unification of case law. Filing of the remaining10 judicial vacancies at the High Court should continue with outmost urgency. The quality of initial and continuous training at the School of Magistrates (SoM) has improved. The HPC and HJC, in cooperation with the SoM, have approved the training calendar for the academic year 2020-2021. The periodic evaluation of judges and prosecutors takes into account the continuous training of judges and prosecutors and includes assessments provided by the SoM. The SoM should simplify the application process for its continuous training activities. Further efforts are needed from the SoM to reinforce its academic staff and to ensure competitive and transparent recruitment procedures. The SoM should focus on further improvements to the quality of methodology and diversity of the substance of initial and continuous training. The SoM continued to be hosted in provisional premises. The SoM should take a more pro-active role in coordination of donors and CSOs’ assistance. In 2020, 19 judges, two prosecutors and 12 legal assistants graduated the SoM. The SoM is an observer of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). It should benefit more proactively of the EJTNs activities and from the expertise within the network. Quality of justice Albania had 307 full-time judges (10.8 per 100,000 inhabitants) and 300 full-time prosecutors (10.5 per 100,000 inhabitants) in 2020. According to the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the European averages are 21 judges/12 prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants. The 2020 budgetary allocation for the judicial system was EUR 44 million. This amounts to EUR 14.5 per inhabitant. The self-governance justice institutions and the vetting process are supported by a EUR 12 million budgetary plan. Court infrastructure remains poor overall and future budget allocations need to address the pressing needs of the judicial institutions with more determination. Between 2018 and 2020, the average salary of judges and of prosecutors increased significantly by 40% and 73% respectively, which is a very positive development. Court activity is monitored through quarterly reporting of the courts and data is made public in the annual reports of HPC and HJC. Efficiency

On 23 March 2021, the Assembly adopted amendments to 10 laws aimed to further strengthen the efficiency of the justice system and facilitate a better functioning of the courts, in line with EU standards. In particular, the legislative amendments provide for specific measures to facilitate the backlog reduction, speed up judicial proceedings, and strengthen the capacity of the new specialised bodies in the area of anti-corruption and organised crime to focus on high level corruption and serious crime. The quorum provisions for High Court appointments of Constitutional Court members was also amended, in consistency with the guidance of the Venice Commission. Efficiency of the judicial system has been affected by the length of proceedings, low clearance rate and high backlog. Appeal courts have a high number of inherited cases and judicial vacancies, with only 40 out of 78 appeal judges in office. A new judicial map must be urgently adopted and implemented to re-distribute judges and resources within the judicial system. The average lengths for a case at appeal level is 998 days for criminal cases and 1742 for civil and commercial cases. The Courts with the highest backlog are the High Court and the Administrative Court of Appeal. The latter has 15 178 cases of which 7 463 are older than two years. The clearance rate is 37%. The High Court has the highest backlog of 36 288 cases of which 27 843 older than two years (77%). However, following the new appointments to the High Court, the clearance rate increased considerably by 46% compared to the last year. The High Court has delivered 3690 decisions since it regained its functionality in March 2020 until June 2021. During the first quarter of 2021, the High Court has delivered 647 final decisions, out of which: 145 adopted by the administrative college, 241 by the civil college and 261 by the criminal college. In July 2020, the High Court adopted guidelines for the reduction of backlog and increase of efficiency for the High Court. Among the key measures are the recruitment of new administrative and legal research staff, improvement of working methods and increase of communication and transparency. The collection and reporting of judicial statistical data has improved but further efforts are required. Decisive policy, planning and budgetary efforts are urgently needed to roll-out a new integrated case management system, and ensure its inter-operability across the entire justice system, in line with CEPEJ methodology. The HJC has made progress on measurement of court efficiency by adoption of necessary regulation in 2021 and statistical charts for evaluation of the performance of the magistrates on the basis of CEPEJ indicators. HJC approved the guidelines on the collection of statistical data for courts and a pilot web-based satisfaction surveys. Standard rules and indicators on efficiency must be approved promptly by the HJC. There are 29 cases pending before the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers for supervision of execution of final judgements of the European Court of Human Rights. The use of alternative dispute resolution continues to be limited and needs to be further strengthened. Awareness of the citizens about the alternative dispute resolution service is low and needs to be enhanced. Fight against corruption Albania has some level of preparation in the fight against corruption. Some progress was made in strengthening the fight against corruption. The implementation of the Inter-sectoral Strategy against Corruption is overall on track. The vetting of members of the judiciary are bringing results in the fight against corruption. The Anti-corruption Task Force has over the past year been less effective and needs to be re-activated. The concrete impact of the recently established Anti-corruption Directorate in the Ministry of Justice on investigating, prosecuting and trying high-level corruption is yet to be seen. The creation of a network of anti-corruption coordinators in 17 institutions is a positive step in the fight against corruption. The recommendations of the last annual report were only partially implemented. Efforts and political will should increase towards consolidating a track record of seizure and confiscation of criminal assets, as well as establishing a solid track record in the fight against corruption. The Special Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Structure (SPAK) contributed to an improvement in the seizure and confiscation of criminal assets in corruption-related cases. Overall, corruption is prevalent in many areas of public and business life and remains an issue of serious concern. Convictions in cases involving high-level officials remain limited, still fostering a culture of impunity within the higher levels of the State. Recommendations for the coming year: ®continue to strengthen the fight against corruption; further progress towards establishing a solid track record of investigations, prosecution, and adjudication of corruption cases, seizure and confiscation/recovery of criminal assets resulting from corruption-related offences; ®ensure that the Special structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK), i.e. the Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), as well as the SPAK Courts, effectively address high-level corruption; ensure adequate resources, skills and cooperation between these new structures and other prosecutorial and judicial entities; ®ensure that criminal proceedings are consistently and systematically initiated against judges and prosecutors accused of criminal conduct during the re-evaluation process; ®effectively address the recommendations of GRECO and implement the related action plan within the given timeframe. Track record Further efforts were made as regards the track record of investigations, prosecutions and convictions in the fight against corruption, although it remains an objective that requires political will and further structured and consistent actions. The number of corruption cases sent to court was 413 in 2020 (643 in 2019), including 53 by the SPO. 270 persons (mid and high-ranking officials) were convicted at first-instance (262 in 2019) and 87 at appeal and final level in 2020 (246 in 2019). The overall number of referrals to the prosecution decreased slightly to 3 016 in 2020 (3 167 in 2019). On convictions of high-level state officials, 73 cases were opened against high-level officials in 2020 (98 in 2019) and 11 indictments were issued involving 20 persons (compared to three indictments involving 10 persons in 2019). One defendant involved in high-level corruption was convicted with final prison sentence by the anti-corruption and organised crime courts. SPAK conducted criminal proceedings in several high-profile cases (one former Prosecutor General, nine former judges of the High Court and the Constitutional Court, one former Judge of the Special Appeals Chamber, a Deputy Chief of the State Police’s Power of Law Operation, 20 election commissioners accused of electoral crimes during the elections of 2017 and a former Minister of Defence). Investigations have so far not resulted in a substantial number of final convictions of high-ranking state officials. Sustained efforts are needed to tackle the culture of impunity within the higher levels of the State. The vetting of members of the judiciary continued to have a positive impact on the fight against corruption. To date, 62 % of the vetting dossiers processed have resulted in dismissals and resignations. Among the high-ranking magistrates, 10 former high-level judges of the High Court and the Constitutional Court have been dismissed through the vetting or have resigned. The SPO has started criminal proceedings against 10 former High Court and Constitutional Court judges and referred 10 other cases (not involving high-level judges) to the competent district prosecution offices. 45 out of 300 high level officials of the State Police, Guard of the Republic and Service for Internal Affairs and Complaints (SIAC) were vetted, leading so far to one dismissal and one resignation. The vetting process and its results remain crucial to restore public trust in the judiciary and law enforcement bodies of the State. Reaching final convictions in high-level corruption cases remains an important priority. The data collection methodology for both corruption and organised crime cases should be further improved. A unified case management system for investigations, prosecutions and convictions is needed. Ensuring efficient operation of SPAK and NBI work remains of key importance to minimise the backlog of sensitive/high-level cases. District law enforcement authorities must be strengthened to efficiently deal with cases not covered by the SPAK and NBI mandates. On asset declarations by high-level state officials, 12 cases were referred by the High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflicts of Interest (HIDAACI) to the prosecution in 2020, none of which resulted in a conviction. In 2019, there were seven cases referred to prosecution that resulted in a conviction and a dismissal. In total, HIDAACI referred six low- and mid-ranking officials to prosecution services in 2020. No final convictions occurred. In 2019, there were 12 referrals and 12 final convictions. Investigation of 33 Conflict of Interest cases were performed in 2020, compared to 42 in 2019.

Seizure and confiscation of criminal assets are ordered and carried out more coherently in corruption-related cases since the establishment of SPAK. Risk assessments have increased within the central administration and a corruption risk assessment methodology has been approved. Some progress was made in setting up an interface between the different electronic case management systems of the police, prosecution and courts. A system to manage the follow-up of denunciations of corruption is being set-up by the Ministry of Justice. Implementation of the Law on whistle-blowing and whistle-blower protection continued. In 2020, nine external reporting cases were registered and investigated by HIDAACI, compared to 14 in 2019. On internal control mechanisms, the Anti-corruption Task Force was less effective in 2020. In 2020, 214 cases including 317 officials were referred to the prosecution compared to 250 cases involving 474 officials in 2019. The State Supreme Audit Institution referred 8 cases in 2020 involving 12 executives to the prosecution (compared to 28 cases involving 40 executives in 2019). The rate of implementation of the State Supreme Audit Institution’s general recommendations by public institutions needs to improve. (see also Chapter 32 ) On access to information, a revised model for the institutional Transparency Programme as well as for the Register of Requests and Responses was approved in 2020. The Commissioner for Information and Data Protection received 715 complaints and issued 23 decisions, while 786 complaints were received in 2019. A system was established and installed in 59 public institutions to record the overall number of requests made and to enable citizens to submit online requests for public information. Transparency has increased with all Ministries having approved and published their transparency programme. (see also Public Administration reform) The impact of anti-corruption measures in particularly vulnerable areas (customs, tax administration, education, health, public procurement, PPP contracts etc.) remains limited. Internal checks and inspection mechanisms within the public administration remain weak and ineffective. Institutional framework Prevention of corruption Effective inter-institutional coordination should be ensured between the new governmental structures involved in fight against corruption. The impact of anti-corruption structures on preventing public sector corruption remains difficult to measure. The institutional and operational capacity of the anti-corruption network in line ministries, at local level and in the Office of the National Coordinator against Corruption (NCAC) in the Ministry of Justice has slightly increased. The recruitment of staff in the separate Directorate for Anti-corruption in the Ministry of Justice has not been completed. The regulatory framework of the network of Anti-corruption coordinators in 17 institutions established to prevent and tackle corruption in state administration remains weak. Effective coordination should be ensured between the new structures at the Ministry of Justice, the Unit for Transparency and Anti‑Corruption at the Prime Minister’s office, the Special Unit for Anti-Corruption and Anti-Evasion established also at the Prime Minister’s office, as well as the Integrated Policy Management Group for PAR and Good Governance. The role of HIDAACI in detecting conflicts of interest and checking asset declarations was reinforced through the adoption of the Law on whistle-blowing and whistle-blower protection and the implementation of the vetting process. Human resources were not strengthened in the past two years. The role of the State Supreme Audit Institution in the overall anti-corruption framework is 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) concluded in the addendum to its Second Compliance Report (fourth round) on Albania of October 2020 that Albania had dealt satisfactorily with nine of the 10 recommendations while one has been partially implemented. In the first report of the fifth round, dealing with the prevention of corruption and promoting integrity in central governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies, published in December 2020, GRECO found that the legal framework for preventing corruption of members of the Council of Ministers and their political advisers, and of the police, is comprehensive, but overly complex. Integrity-related secondary legislation is in place but an overall integrity risk-management system has yet to be established. Integrity plans have been approved in 2020 for the Ministry of Justice and the Albanian State Police, together with a corruption risk assessment methodology. In 2020, 29 817 complaints were registered on the online portal to promote “co-governance” with citizens and businesses. 1 083 complaints related to corruption received on the online portal were transmitted to the Police but none resulted in criminal proceedings. 34 administrative measures were taken. In 2019, the portal had received a total of 23 605 complaints related to public administration of which 22 423 were addressed leading to 171 administrative measures and 20 cases to the Anti-Corruption Task Force. The number of electronic services on administrative matters increased to 1 021 in 2020 compared to 601 in 2019. Law enforcement Specialised bodies in charge of investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating complex corruption cases – the Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime courts and the SPAK, comprising the Special Prosecution Office (SPO) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – are now fully operational. Legal framework Albania is a 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. Further amendments to the Law on political party financing and the Electoral Code were adopted by the Parliament on 23 July 2020 (see also section 2.1.1 Democracy). All the secondary legislation for the regulatory framework on integrity is in place but remains highly complex and fragmented, and effective implementation is lacking. Outstanding EU recommendations on the improvement of Political Party Financing and the Electoral Reform, which are not part of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, still need to be addressed. Incidents, which occurred during the election campaign, in particular related to vote-buying, have shown that there is a need of transparent political party finances. 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, improve proper budgeting of the strategy’s activities. A new action plan for 2020-2023 for the implementation of the extended strategy was adopted in July 2020. A mid-term review of the Strategy has been undertaken. Consultations with relevant stakeholders before the approval of the reports have improved, including the use of the public consultation platform. Fundamental rights Albania complies overall with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions related to the protection of fundamental rights. During the reporting period, there was progress on property rights as regards the registration, digitisation and implementation of the compensation scheme. On minority rights, an additional by-law was adopted on minority education but remaining by-laws are still pending adoption. The population census law was adopted. The legal framework on anti-discrimination further improved but the case-law has not yet substantially developed. Progress was made in other aspects of fundamental rights, for instance on the enforcement of the rights of persons with disabilities and on gender equality. In particular there was progress in ensuring adequate funding for the implementation of the dedicated strategy, and a new strategy on gender equality 2021-2030 was adopted in June. By-laws linked to the Law on Social Housing were adopted. Recommendations from last year have partially delivered on. Recommendations for the coming year: ®adopt pending by-laws on minority rights, in particular on self-identification and use of minority languages and increase the capacities of the State Committee on National Minorities; ®continue the first registration of immovable properties and the implementation of the law on finalising transitional ownership processes, in a transparent and inclusive manner; ®upgrade the security, and restrict access to and use of personal data stored in state-owned databases. Albania complies overall with international human rights instruments and has ratified most international conventions. The signature of 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 is pending since 2019. Assessing the level of implementation of human rights legislation, policies, and strategies remains a challenge due to the absence of comprehensive monitoring and data. Albania has submitted its Fifth National Periodic Report on the implementation of Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). Following the adoption of the Universal Periodic Review by the Human Rights Council (September 2019), national institutions engaged in a dialogue on human rights implementation in order to better integrate human rights in strategic and development policies and to identify focus areas. In December 2020 Albania appointed an Observer, an alternate Observer and a National Liaison Officer to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Albania continues to ensure good cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights. As of 1 January 2021, there were 563 cases pending (104 communicated cases) before the ECtHR, many of which are related to property and due legal process in property related cases. In 2020 the Court delivered three judgments, all finding breaches of the ECHR. The re-accreditation of the Ombudsman by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) with “Status A” in December 2020, is a positive step. In 2020, the total of 256 recommendations submitted by the Ombudsman remained stable of which 69 were accepted, 24 were rejected, 34 went without response, and 49 are still being processed. The Ombudsman significantly increased the number of cases handled ex-officio, and an increased number of recommendations were addressed to central and local governments to take concrete measures to respect fundamental rights and freedoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular for vulnerable groups. During the pandemic restrictions, the Ombudsman recommended to allow protests to take place while respecting COVID-19 protocols, which has been disregarded by the authorities. However, the request by the Ombudsman, to provide written information on the measures taken in the prisons and on the respect of fundamental rights of prisoners, was generally observed. The Commissioner for Protection from Discriminations (CDP) issued three main recommendations responding to COVID-19 situation: two for the expansion of the list of specific categories in need and one for proposed amendments to the Criminal Code related to domestic violence, disobedience to COVID-19 measures and violation of quarantine rules. The effective implementation of the Ombudsman’s recommendations by public authorities has not improved enough to enhance public institutional accountability. The role of the CPD was strengthened through amendments to the law regulating its function and its organisation. For the second year in a row, the budget of the Ombudsman was lowered, Concerning the right to life, in July 2020, the Albanian Parliament adopted amendments to the law on the Right to Information about the former State Security Documents of the Socialist People’s Republic of Albania. The implementing legislation related to these amendments needs to be adopted. During the reporting period, the Prosecutor’s offices failed to conduct any ‘ex officio’ investigation on missing persons cases during the communist era. The resolution of cases has remained low partly due to the lack of capacities and resources. Political will is needed to establish an efficient cooperation mechanism among relevant institutions and to enhance public awareness on this matter. On the prevention of torture and ill-treatment, the National Preventive Mechanism conducted monitoring inspection visits in 10 Institutions of Execution of the Criminal Decisions, a marked decrease from the previous year due to COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the 85 recommendations from the Ombudsman aiming at improving prisons conditions and treatment of prisoners, 52 have been fully implemented, 22 are partly implemented and 11 are under implementation. Following the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recommendations, further improvements are needed in the functioning of detention facilities. The renovation of Lezha prison, as an intermediary facility to treat people with mandatory medical treatment, progressed. However, the conditions in Zaharia medical facility remain inadequate. The action plan for the development of the prison system (2019-2022) is in place. The penitentiary legal package was approved by the Albanian Parliament and entered into force in August 2020. Six manuals for education staff for rehabilitation programmes for prisoners have been approved in 2020. From June 2020 to March 2021, 782 staff from the prison system have been trained. The use of alternatives to custody continued to increase in 2020. The establishment and functioning of the Probation Service, as part of the reform in the system of execution of criminal sentences, has significantly improved restorative justice in Albania since 2019. This service is fully operational all over the country and foresees alternative to imprisonment including for juvenile offenders. The increase in numbers of alternative sentences contributed to a reduction in prison overcrowding.

Across the country, the number of inmates is now under the capacity of the prison system by 19.4%. The use of electronic monitoring remains suspended since 2017 because of an unresolved legal dispute. On the protection of personal data, efforts are ongoing to align the personal data protection legislation with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 and the Police Directive 2016/680. In December, a Decision of the Council of Ministers approved in principle the 2018 Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, which paved the way for its signature. Seven additional staff have been hired at the office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDP) in 2020. Additional staff needs to be allocated to the Commissioner in order for it to fulfil the increased duties foreseen in the legislation on personal data protection expected to be adopted in the next reporting period. In 2020, the Commissioner received 308 complaints from data subjects which is a comparable level to 2019. The Commissioner carried out 60 inspections and issued 20 recommendations, 18 decisions and 37 administrative