Prime Minister Edi Rama held a joint press conference with EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca to discuss the EU Commission’s report on Albania in line with the 2021 EU Enlargement Policy.
The Albanian Prime Minister began his word by mentioning that the EU Commission had given an overall positive assessment on the general elections held in April.
“Initially, I would like to say that the report seals the fact that elections in Albania were undisputedly carried out with integrity and according to EU standards and recommendations”, said Rama.
He also emphasized that Albania has made steps forward in its path to opening accession negotiations, according to the report, but asserted that the country is not ready to become a member, yet.
Progress in key reforms and consolidation of democracy was also acknowledged in the report, in addition to the battle against organized crime and corruption.
However, the report also highlights that “corruption is prevalent in many areas of public and business life and remains an issue of serious concern”, adding that SPAK and other relevant institutions “should significantly strengthen the country’s overall capacity to investigate and prosecute corruption”.
“We haven’t pushed forward the anti-defamation”
Responding to a question posed by Euronews Albania journalist Eksiola Shehu on the controversial anti-defamation package, PM Rama responded that there is no reason for concern as “it doesn’t exist yet”.
“We haven’t pushed forward the anti-defamation package, I don’t know what the alarm is about when it actually doesn’t exist. When they talk about concerns over the autonomy of the Albanian public broadcaster, I don’t know if it’s ever been more autonomous in history. Freedom of defamation is at the highest levels. Is this freedom of the media? To me, no, but we need to adapt”, said Rama.
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