Prime Minister Edi Rama participated this Thursday in the “Albania 2030 in the EU – The Path of Reforms” meeting, where he commented on the establishment and role of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

In his statement, Rama said that international partners had been influenced by gossip and conspiracy theories surrounding the Commission.

“The Commission was accompanied by confusion and conspiracy theories, which also affected our friends—representatives of the democratic community here in Tirana. It’s interesting how Albania, such a small country, has the ability to ‘infect’ friends coming from much colder countries with a taste for gossip,” Rama said.

He emphasized that the Commission, led by Fatmir Xhafaj, has contributed to strengthening anti-corruption efforts and improving governance, noting that since it began its work on May 27, two negotiation clusters have been opened in Albania’s EU membership talks.

“Since the start of the Commission’s work—which was met with confusion and conspiracy theories that even touched our democratic partners here in Tirana—it’s been fascinating to see how Tirana, Albania, can ‘infect’ friends from colder places with the charm and flavor of gossip.
This led the Commission into a phase where, while we believed strongly in its usefulness, its role was clearly about consolidating the progress made in anti-corruption efforts, especially through overall good governance. Since May 27, when the Commission began its work, we’ve entered a new level—we’ve opened two clusters of negotiation chapters,” Rama added.