Friends of Albania meeting in Vienna focuses on elections and reform

VIENNA, 28 February 2000 - At today's Friends of Albania (FOA) meeting in Vienna, jointly chaired by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the European Union, interested governments and international organizations reviewed progress in Albania's reform and development programme since July 1999.

The FOA commended the Government of Prime Minister Ilir Meta for the priority given to law and order and anti-corruption initiatives and to institutional reform, though they were concerned by the continuing polarization of political life in Albania. The Group urged increased co-operation between the police, judiciary, and prosecutor's office and called for early implementation of recently passed legislation in these and other areas. They also expressed their readiness to assist Albania to take full advantage of the opportunities available under the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe.

The Friends stressed that the forthcoming local elections were an important test for Albania's democratic development and endorsed the efforts of the OSCE Presence in Albania to encourage the Government and the political parties to work together to ensure that these elections are free, fair and undisputed, and include the participation of all the parties. They urged all sides to agree upon an electoral law by the end of March in an appropriate and responsible manner.

The Friends recognized the need for establishing a list of limited, but achievable priority targets for reform. In the view of the Friends, the highest priorities for Albania should be maintaining the fight against crime; tackling corruption through institutional reform; establishing a transparent and internationally acceptable electoral framework; accelerating financial reforms to increase employment and revenue-generating opportunities; establishing improved budgetary procedures; and increasing efforts in the field of environmental protection.

Please find Final Conclusions of the meeting attached.

Friends of Albania Group Plenary Session

28 February 2000Vienna

Final Conclusions

1. The International Friends of Albania Group met in Vienna on 28 February, under the Chairmanship of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and EU Presidency, to review the process of democratic transition in Albania, and to discuss how the international community could most usefully contribute to the achievement of shared goals. The review took place on the basis of a detailed Implementation Report prepared by the local Friends of Albania Group in Tirana.
2. The Group reviewed political developments in Albania since its last meeting in Brussels in July 1999. It noted with satisfaction Albania?s successful recovery from the refugee emergency in the second half of 1999, and welcomed and encouraged the active role Albania had begun to play in the process of post-crisis regional integration, within the framework of the South-East Europe Stability Pact. The Friends welcomed progress made in integrating Albania in Euro-Atlantic structures. The Friends also noted, as sign of Albania?s growing political maturity, that the change of Government at the end of 1999 had been achieved in accordance with the Constitution without affecting stability or the continuation of reform.
3. The Friends expressed their strong support for Prime Minister Meta's reaffirmation of law and order and anti-corruption as priority targets of his administration, as well as his emphasis on the need for strong state institutions and respect for the rule of law.
4. The Friends also welcomed the new Government's openness to dialogue with the Parliamentary Opposition, as an essential institution of a modern democratic state. Despite the return to Parliament of the main opposition Democratic Party in July last year, politics in Albania remained polarised, and personalities rather than policies still dominated the political debate. They stressed the importance of the Democratic Party's resolving as soon as possible its internal differences, in a transparent and democratic manner and in strict accordance with the party's statutes, so that the Party could devote itself more effectively to its institutional role of constructive criticism and dialogue with other political forces. On the side of the Socialist Party, internal differences should not impede the reform process the Government has embarked upon.
5. In this respect, the Friends expressed concern that a number of newly created institutions essential to the proper monitoring and oversight of the democratic process remained inactive because of disagreements between the opposition parties and the governing majority over their composition or status. The Friends reiterate their call to work constructively within Parliament and to find a relationship with one another as found in Western-style democracies.
6. The Friends particularly stressed the need for cross-party dialogue in the run up to local government elections, due in Albania later this year. They underlined that free, fair and undisputed elections were of crucial importance as a measure of Albania's democratic maturity and prospects for international integration. This year's local elections must avoid the flaws and criticisms of previous electoral processes. The Friends endorsed an appeal made in January 2000 by the OSCE Presence to the Government and all political parties in Albania to work together to prepare the forthcoming electoral process, and urged the approval by consensus of an Electoral Law by the end of March. In this regard, the Friends underlined the importance of the Central Elections Commission. The Friends confirmed the readiness of the international community to assist, particularly in the area of voter registration and electoral monitoring, and called on donors to ensure that the internationally sponsored Electoral Assistance Programme was fully funded.
7. The Friends also welcomed the start made to redistributing the assets of a number of former "pyramid investment schemes", recalling that the collapse of these schemes had sparked the major breakdown in law and order in 1997. The Friends underlined the need to extend this process to the main pyramid investment schemes and to proceed speedily with the recovery of the other pyramid scheme assets.
8. As at their last international meeting, the Friends devoted much time to a discussion of law and order and the fight against organised crime and corruption, considering progress in these areas to be an important precondition also for investment and economic regeneration. In this regard, Albania was invited to ratify the European Civil and Criminal Conventions on Corruption and to join the Council of Europe's GRECO mechanism (Group of States against Corruption). Furthermore, the Friends stressed the importance of the Anti-Corruption Initiative adopted in Sarajevo on 16 February 2000 in Working Table III of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. The meeting noted the progress made by both the Majko and Meta Governments since the middle of last year in tackling crime and widespread lawlessness. In particular, there had been an improvement in the situation in the north of the country, about which the International Friends had previously expressed concern.
9. The Friends also recognised the importance of the collection and the destruction of surplus weapons and munitions and called upon the Albanian authorities to take immediate steps in this field. They noted with appreciation UN- and NATO-led efforts in this area along with other NATO-led assistance efforts under the Partnership for Peace programme to help rebuild the Albanian armed forces and crisis management capacity.
10. Strong concern was expressed by the Friends over the poor state of the environment and the high levels of pollution throughout the country. The Group urged recognition of the environment as a major area of concern, as further degradation would hinder future economic development and detrimentally affect the health of the population.
11. The Friends stressed the importance of continued judicial and legal reforms and called for further implementation of the Action Plan agreed in January 1999 by the Albanian authorities with the European Commission and the Council of Europe. Some improvement in cooperation between the police, prosecutors and the judiciary was noted. The Friends again stressed the crucial importance of further progress in this area, in order to improve the ratio of successful prosecutions to arrests, and urged the early enactment and implementation of the proposed Law on the Judicial Police. The initiative of the General Prosecutor's Office to establish dedicated teams of police, prosecutors and judges to handle sensitive and high profile cases of organised crime and corruption was also welcomed, and the Friends expressed their willingness to assist with training, particularly in the field of police, judiciary, and civil service, and resources.
12. The Friends reiterate that establishing the rule of law and building democratic institutions in the country are essential for the creation of a sound political and social environment. Respect for and observance of human and minority rights remain a high priority. They welcome the ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by the Albanian Parliament and the professed Albanian intention of implementing it.
13. The Friends welcomed Albania's decision to abolish the death penalty in accordance with Protocol 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
14. Some progress was also noted, through the efforts of Albanian and neighbouring law enforcement agencies, in stemming the cross-border trade in illicit goods and human beings. Nevertheless, they expressed their concern that the number of illegal immigrants seeking to use Albania as a transit point increased and reiterated their deep concern that the flow of illegal immigrants from Albania in and outside the region continued to grow. The Friends urged all the countries concerned to accept their responsibilities and urged the countries of origin of illegal trafficking of human beings to assist Albania in minimising the burden that such trafficking poses both for Albania and for the countries of eventual destination.
15. In the context of law and order, the Friends expressed their appreciation for the ongoing work of the WEU/MAPE and of bilateral assistance missions and programmes and invited the Albanian authorities to continue close co-operation with WEU/MAPE for the implementation of the new law on the state police. The Friends also expressed their appreciation for the work accomplished by the EC Customs Assistance Mission in Albania, which has already led to improvements in the Albanian Customs Service and revenues, and determination to support fully the Mission in its ongoing activities.
16. The Friends also noted that, since their last meeting, progress has been made as regards the legal environment for the improvement of the rule of law and the fight against corruption, in particular through the adoption of the Law on State Police and the Civil Service Law, as well as the establishment of the Office of the People's Advocate (Ombudsman). Much work, however, remained to be done in these areas, as well as in the judiciary and customs, to implement the personnel management, oversight and audit structures provided for in recent legislation. Progress in a number of related sectors, such as state audit, the judicial inspectorate, public procurement and aspects of the taxation system had been slow, and more urgent efforts were needed to speed the pace of reform. In some cases, the responsibility for initiating such action rested constitutionally with the institutions themselves, though Government must ensure the provision of adequate personnel and financial resources. Without transparency, accountability and professionalism in all such institutions, the fight against crime and corruption, inside and outside state institutions, would not succeed.
17. At the same time, the Friends recognized that there was a risk to the credibility of the reform process in setting over-ambitious objectives, or expecting progress across too broad a front. A better approach would be to set a limited number of achievable and measurable targets in the areas of highest current priority at each meeting. Substantial progress had been made to date in terms of legislation and institution building, but relatively less as regards implementation and enforcement. The Friends now expect tangible and timely results, in terms of both institutional consolidation and enforcement, to meet the most important challenges facing Albania in the year 2000. These tangible and timely results are important factors for continuing assistance and support by the international community.
18. In the view of the Friends, the highest priorities for Albania for the next phase should be:

• Maintaining the fight for public order and against organised crime, corruption, and illegal activities, with particular emphasis on improving the effectiveness of cooperation between the police, judiciary and prosecution services;
• Pursuing further concrete measures to build professional, transparent and independent state institutions, capable of turning back pervasive government and private corruption, and developing the human resources within Albania to ensure their sustainability;
• Establishing by consensus a durable and internationally-acceptable framework for local and all other electoral processes;
• Maintaining macro-economic stability and accelerating structural reforms with a view to promoting the developments of a sound financial system and an efficient private sector, and thereby contributing to the creation of employment, revenue-generating opportunities, and eradication of poverty.
• Harmonizing budget allocations with the financial needs of maintenance of development projects once these projects have been transferred into Albania's responsibility and integration of the preparation of the investment budget into the general process of budget formulation.
• Increasing efforts to protect the natural and urban environment.

1. The Group was informed by the European Commission and the World Bank on sectoral and general review meetings carried out and envisaged in the context of the Joint Recovery Programme. The Group appreciated the sectoral meetings organised by the local formation of the Friends, which contributed to create co-ordination and cohesion among the international community and to mobilise support and identify additional assistance if needed.
2. The Friends warmly welcomed the wish of the Albanian authorities to play a full and active part in regional initiatives to tackle organised crime and illegal trafficking in the region, and expressed the hope that the necessary structures would be put in place soon. They recognised the need for regional and international assistance in tackling the phenomenon of illegal migration, to which Albania's still weak preventative structures were particularly vulnerable.
3. The Friends noted the relevance of a number of region-wide initiatives now emerging, among others, in the Stability Pact, to Albania's own process of reform and current preoccupations. The Friends also emphasised the need to improve living standards and eradicate poverty as a prerequisite to stability in the region. They encouraged the local Friends to work closely with those responsible for these initiatives, and to advise on how best they might be incorporated in coming phases of the reform programme, taking full account of the Albanian realities. Considering Albania's high expectations for the exercise of the Stability Pact, the Friends expressed their readiness to work within its frame together with competent Albanian authorities in order to secure substantive Albanian participation in the region-wide initiatives.

Finally, the Friends stressed that many of the challenges currently facing Albania mentioned above also required regional and international solutions and expressed their willingness to continue working with Albania in all these fields.