After years in the waiting room, accession negotiations with the EU are starting for Albania and North Macedonia. Both countries still have structural problems.
Tirana has not completed any construction sites yet
The idea of Albania starting EU accession negotiations seemed unrealistic for many years after the dictatorship ended in 1990. But the country, which was led by dictator Enver Hoxha towards radical self-reliance in the 1980s, is now a democracy. in operation, it has largely opened up to international trade, established a market economy, and has worked on reforms of its administration and judiciary for years. “This is your success. It is your success and the success of your citizens,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the start of negotiations on Tuesday, addressing Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Despite the congratulations, no one in Brussels hides that accession is still a long way off. Despite the will to reform, Albania, which was granted candidate status in 2014, has recently been slowed by two economic slumps – one caused by the earthquake in November 2019 and the other by the Covid pandemic. Both have set the country back, according to the European Commission’s latest progress report. Without sufficient state funding, reforms in administration or in the fight against unemployment have stalled.
This lack of stability increases the risk of corruption and organized crime, which are among the country’s latent problems. The latest testimony from EU experts was devastating: “Corruption is still prevalent in many private and economic sectors and remains a matter of serious concern.” There is a lack of personnel, but also of structures to combat it. Albania was ranked 110th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s current corruption index. The situation with organized crime is just as complicated: money laundering, drug trafficking or cyber crimes are among the crimes that are not sufficiently prosecuted.
Last year’s EU progress report points to several positive developments, such as the independence of the judiciary or meeting economic criteria. But none of the many construction sites are complete. Deficits remain, for example with regard to civil rights, dealing with ethnic minorities or ensuring media freedom.
mostly muslim
Albania, where all religions were banned from 1967 to 1990, could soon become the first Muslim-majority country to join the EU. Despite the temporary ban, the Islamic tradition is deeply rooted in many areas of society and is likely to make reforms difficult, for example in the absence of gender equality. The progress report expressly refers to the recently strengthened relations with Turkey.