During a joint press conference at the headquarters of the Prime Minister, the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, and the prime minister, Edi Rama, were asked about the arrest of former president Ilir Meta.

In her response, Von Der Leyen emphasized that she could not comment on specific court proceedings, but emphasized continued support for judicial reform in Albania. “I will not comment on judicial proceedings, we cooperate with Albania on judicial reform, which has nothing to do with individual cases. The process depends on the merits of each country and it is very important for member states to see the results of the work. In Albania we have an excellent example, so things have moved quickly, and if they continue like this, we will probably open all the group-chapters by the end of next year. This is an ambitious plan and we have a lot of work ahead of us,” she said.

For his part, Prime Minister Rama decided not to comment on the arrest of the head of the Freedom Party, stressing that neither he nor the political force he represents do not comment on justice issues.

“You know the answer, not only because of the fact that I do not make comments about domestic politics in the presence of foreign friends, but also because of the fact that since we started the justice reform, neither I nor the political force I lead make comments about matters pertaining to justice.
When certain outcomes occur, it is perhaps in some cases worth making a comment, especially when justice comes into place regarding catastrophic phenomena for society, such as embezzlement. The specific case is a matter that belongs only to justice,” concluded Rama.