By Ditmir Bushati
Albania's EU accession process is being shrouded in a fog of debate that serves no one. Public opinion is being focused on whether or not to approve the European Commission's Interim Report (IBAR) on the rule of law.
From the outset, the negotiation process has suffered from a lack of transparency, consultation and accountability. While the EU has made public its negotiating position with Albania for all groups of chapters, as well as the interim milestones that need to be met in relation to the rule of law, Albania's negotiating position has been kept confidential, preventing the Parliament, civil society, media, academics and business from being truly part of this process.
Today we are in a paradoxical situation, where on the one hand there is talk of 'filled boxes' and '92 gaps filled', of 'the trust we have gained from the European Commission', and even that 'the Commission speaks to EU member states on our behalf'; and on the other hand, there is talk of 'blocking the process', becoming the spokesperson for the concerns of EU member states. To paraphrase the famous American psychologist Herbert Simon, this type of information creates a poverty of attention.
In the middle of the EU accession negotiations process, an information campaign has also been launched. However, no one is taking the trouble to explain how European standards are being translated into good governance and social progress. On the contrary, the interaction between the Commission and EU member states is commented on, as if we were spectators and not protagonists of our fate. Interaction, which has also occurred in the past for the launch and conclusion of negotiations for the Stabilization and Association Agreement; for the recommendation for candidate country status; for the launch of EU membership negotiations.
It is spoken on behalf of the Commission or the EU member states, in the absence of a real analysis of the countless challenges we face. There is no discussion of how and through which reforms Albania will become a modern European state in terms of the rule of law and sustainable economic and social development.
We have re-entered the cycle of mutual political accusations, demonstrating a lack of corrective capacity for the delays that in many cases we ourselves cause. Even today, when due to geopolitics, the door to EU membership has been opened, we find it difficult to understand that in this process the governments have the main burden, but the responsibility of the political class is shared. While the merit belongs only to the Albanians who have no doubts about the European path.
Instead of talking about chapters, boxes, gaps, measures, or describing the EU as a two-story building, where the Commission decides on the first floor and the member states decide on the second floor, and not as its treaty foresees, we need a real debate on how, through the exercise of this state-consolidation process, we will guarantee competition in public life; the integrity of political life; how we will fight the metastases of corruption and organized crime in public life and in critical sectors of the economy; how we will put an end to models of impunity; how we will build an administration based on merit and in service to the public; how we will guarantee the autonomy of local elected officials, the decentralization of powers and services to strengthen the cohesion of communities; when our schools will be centers of knowledge and part of European research networks; how we will curb the high rate of immigration and when we will talk about population growth; when our entrepreneurs will measure success based on risk taken or innovation and not only through state budget tenders; when workers will feel rewarded for their contribution to economic development; when the sanctity of property will be guaranteed; how we will unleash competition in the economy for every lek that comes out of the state budget or euro that comes from the EU, by implementing the rules of public procurement and fair competition; when we will guarantee the quality of the food we eat; when we will give capitalism a social face by increasing the basis of well-being and fairly distributing resources and common wealth; and when we will talk about an economy based on knowledge.
Of course, the above list is not exhaustive. But it is an illustration of the fact that people's expectations cannot be "fed" with chapters. In short, we must be able to connect progress on paper with everyday reality. The debate should focus on protecting the interests of the Albanian economy and society, on sectors that may have a comparative advantage over other economies. All social groups should be included in this process. The debate should be about the quality and speed of the EU accession process. About the standard of daily life. About the affairs of Albania.
