Prime Minister Edi Rama and his administration speak openly about their reputation as being corrupt and have been aggressively implementing laws to tackle these issues.  For example, in 2019, the administration formed the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (known as SPAK).  SPAK is an independent judicial entity tasked with investigating corruption and organized crime at the highest levels of government and society in Albania.  It consists of the National Bureau of Investigation, the Special Prosecution and the Special Courts.  This task force has received strong support from the US Embassy and its European allies.  The work of SPAK is evident with SPAK issuing 32 arrest warrants and detaining 18 people in 2021.  In addition, a number of judges and others resigned their positions upon the SPAK being authorized to begin their vetting.  On November 11, 2023, The European Commission issued its “Albania 2023 Report” which highlights the strong progress Albania is making with SPAK and other anti-corruption campaigns.  Another example includes the government of Albania committing to proactively implement the anti-corruption strategy as part of the National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI).  According to the Council of Europe, of which Albania is a member state the adoption of the new Crosscutting Strategy for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption and for Transparent Governance 2008-2013 aims at the progressive and sustainable reduction of corruption, boosting of the institutions’ integrity and promotion of good governance and transparency. The above initiatives and others have allowed the Rama administration to make significant strides in its bid to enter the EU.   In July 2022, the EU officially voted to begin accession talks with Albania to join.  No country that has begun accession talks has been refused entry to the EU.  However, Albania does still have hurdles to overcome.  While the 2023 EU report discusses the good progress Albania has made across a number of sectors, it needs to continue to be diligent in working on the corruption across its public and business sectors.  Suggestions include improving judicial follow-up on cases with indications of criminal offenses, strengthening the Anti-Corruption Directorate-General’s institutional capacity and revising the Ethics Commission’s composition   Sources: Council of Europe: https://www.coe.int/en/web/tirana/project-against-corruption-in-albania Special Anti-Corruption Structure: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPAK European Council: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/enlargement/albania/ European Council Albania 2023 Report: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-11/SWD_2023_690%20Albania%20report.pdf