EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin speech at the Public Consultations on the 2018 Albania Annual Report

Dear participants from civil society and international organisations,

Every year, the European Commission adopts its strategic document for the enlargement area. It takes stock of the progress made in each country and sets out the recommendations for the coming year.

This year, the “enlargement package” will be published in April 2018, instead of usually in November. This will allow an alignment on the publication of economic statistic for the previous year. The transition from November to April also means that the reporting period is longer than usual: from November 2016 to January 2018.

It is a report from the Commission to the Council, so that Member States can assess the countries' progress and discuss the Commission's recommendations.  Any decision regarding the next steps of Albania towards the EU is taken by the Member States, on the basis of the recommendation of the Commission.

How is this done ? Commission collects information from many sources: government, Delegation, member States, civil society, International organisations, business, core DGs missions, peer missions, sectoral report, compliance review, all of this collected, cross-referenced and corroborated.

The 2018 Report for Albania will be very important. Last year, the Commission made a conditional Recommendation for the opening of negotiations, given that progress is achieved through 2017. This concerns decisive steps on justice reform, including the vetting – but also credible and consistent progress in the fight against organised crime, including against cannabis cultivation and trade, fight against corruption, reform of the public administration and protection of fundamental rights.

For us, what civil society has to say and contribute is very important.

In comparison to previous years, we have decided to dedicate 2 full days to gathering your input, also written contributions.

We want to work hand in hand with civil society. You have a crucial role in giving voice to all Albanian citizens and hold institutions accountable.

In this process, the role of civil society as watchdog and gatekeeper is vital. These consultations represent a key moment for you to reflect on the progress and to identify areas of improvement or backlash. You have the on-the-ground knowledge that is of essential importance for our capacity to understand the country's real progress.

It is important that civil society gets organized and engages systematically to ensure representation of citizens’ interest in every decision, reform or policy that affects their daily lives. On this, the EU Delegation is going at great length to support CSOs in Albania and build your capacity.

In turn, it is important that institutions, government, parliament, municipalities, show increased political commitment and concrete actions to carry out an open-door policy with civil society.

Annual report is not a box ticking exercise. It is not done for the EU, but for Albania. Reforms do not happen because the European Union asked for it, but because Albanians ask for it and it is important that the report reflects the real scope of change felt and experienced by Albanians.

Thank you for your contribution.