Dear Ambassadors 

Dear Members of Parliament, 

Dear General Prosecutor,

Dear Special Chief Prosecutor, 

Dear State Election Commissioner, 

Dear Members of civil society, 

Dear Participants,

I would like to thank the civil society organisations that have convened this important meeting and also the embassies of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom for supporting this event. I think it is very timely.

And I would also like to thank the think tanks for the studies that they have submitted to inform today's discussion. As you know, the EU has been and continues to be a strong supporter of Albania's efforts to strengthen further its electoral process. Our mandate here in Albania, as I often say, is to support the country meeting all the fundamental requirements for EU memberships.

This is our mandate, this is our goal. Having a solid electoral framework in place, which is a key factor of democracy, is one of the fundamental requirements. And as you know, Albania committed to address outstanding issues of its electoral framework in the context of the cluster one accession negotiations, as part of the roadmap on the functioning of democratic institutions, which has been endorsed both by the government and by the Parliament.

And as you know, the pace and fulfilment of the requirements in cluster one determines the overall pace of negotiations. In our dialogue with the Albanian authorities on electoral issues, our central guidance continues to be the OSCE/ODIHR election observation recommendations. Unfortunately, during the current legislature, the main political parties have been unable to find common ground for a comprehensive electoral reform that would address all of these recommendations. This was clearly a missed opportunity. In the context of the EU accession negotiations, we will continue to follow this closely, and we do expect that the next legislature will deal with these outstanding issues swiftly.

Returning now to today's issues, which are campaign finance and transparency, the prevention and the misuse of state resources, as well as the handling of election-related offences; they are all key for ensuring a level playing field and integrity with the election campaign. 

As regards the issue of integrity and electoral crimes, I would like to say that, first of all, citizens expect political parties to present candidates with the highest integrity in line with the law and in line with its spirit. 

And secondly, when it comes to electoral crimes, as confirmed in several ODIHR reports, vote buying and pressure on voters continue, unfortunately, to be an issue in Albania. And the recommendation made by ODIHR is for law enforcement bodies to make all efforts to identify and independently investigate all allegations of electoral violations in a thorough, timely and transparent manner. At the same time, authorities should also make genuine efforts to raise awareness about vote buying and the damage it creates for the integrity of elections. 

In this context, I would like to welcome the initiative taken by the Central Electoral Commission, the General Prosecution Office, SPAK and the State Police, to coordinate their actions ahead of the election of May in order to address potential electoral crimes as a way of guaranteeing trust in the electoral process. I am looking forward to hearing more from these institutions about their initiatives and coordination efforts. 

The misuse of administrative resources has also been underlined in several ODIHR reports as an issue that needs more attention to ensure a level playing field. I would therefore welcome the fact that the Central Electoral Commission has stepped up its monitoring role in this area. I look forward to hearing news from civil society organisations on the current situation and what can be further improved, for instance, as regards the regulation of online campaigning. 

There is clearly a need also to improve the legal and regulatory frameworks on campaign finance as underlined in several ODIHR reports. There are currently too many loopholes which do not enable a sufficient level of transparency and accountability. Citizens should be able to have a clear picture about how campaigns are financed rather than rely on ex-post reporting. Here as well, I look forward to hearing the views of institutions and civil society organisations on what more can be done. 

Clearly some of the shortcomings that Albania is facing can only be addressed by a comprehensive electoral reform as part of an inclusive, cross-party process. We look forward to the next parliament doing exactly that. Nevertheless, public institutions and political parties have the opportunity already now to take a number of measures within the current framework, with a view to the upcoming 11th of May elections. The collaboration between the Central Electoral Commission, the General Prosecutor's Office, SPAK and the police on the prevention of electoral crimes is a good example.

Finally, I would like to underline that civil society organisations play a key role in ensuring accountability of electoral processes, as today's event demonstrate. In Albania, as elsewhere, civil society organisations are closely monitoring electoral processes and are often the ones who expose violations and submit complaints to the relevant authorities. And this is why the EU itself supports several local CSOs in Albania through grants and their watchdog efforts, including on another topic that is not the topic of today's discussion, that of hate speech.

Let me also add that Albania is not the only country facing such challenges. Also in the European Union, our democratic election processes and our rule of law systems all have vulnerabilities which need to be addressed. This is why the EU itself in the last years has been looking to enforce resilience and safeguarding electoral processes, notably from all forms of interference, through a series of mechanisms such as the Digital Services Act, the strengthening of the Code of Practices on Disinformation, the European Media Freedom Act, and a new regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising.

So I hope that today's conference will be an opportunity for all actors to have an open discussion and exchange on these issues, and I really welcome the fact that all key actors are present to discuss the matter openly, to share their experience and share their perspectives. 

And I wish you a fruitful and constructive discussion. 

Thank you!