The Council of Albanian Ambassadors expresses its opposition to the new draft law on the Foreign Service, presented a few days ago by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Elisa Spiropali.
In a statement, the MTEF emphasizes that none of the suggestions given by the ambassadors were reflected in the draft law and that they were denied the right to hold a hearing in the Parliamentary Committee.
"We call on the government and the parliamentary majority to withdraw the draft law and reopen the review process in a comprehensive and bipartisan manner, taking seriously the suggestions of those who make a valuable contribution to foreign policy and the protection of state and national interests," the Council's statement said.
KASH also calls on the President of the Republic not to decree the law in its current form and to use the constitutional powers to return it for reconsideration to the Assembly. The organization warns that it will pursue all legal avenues, including appealing the case to the Constitutional Court, in defense of constitutional principles and a professional, depoliticized diplomatic service.
According to the MTEF, the adoption of the law in this form risks politicizing the diplomatic career system and creating negative precedents for future political rotations, undermining the credibility and continuity of Albanian diplomacy.
FULL CASH DECLARATION
The Council of Albanian Ambassadors (CASA) followed with particular attention the discussions held in the Laws Committee and the Foreign Policy Committee on the draft law on the Foreign Service and expresses its deep concern and regret that none of the concerns and suggestions raised over the last two years by the CASA, as well as by prominent personalities of diplomacy and international relations, were taken into consideration by the representatives of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the deputies of the parliamentary majority.
MTEF also regrets the lack of political will on the part of the government and the parliamentary majority to address this draft law with consensus and in a bipartisan manner, considering that this is a law of high national and state interest, and not simply partisan.
The MFA assesses that, as with the adoption of the law in 2015, the parliamentary majority continues to treat and consider the Foreign Service as part of it, clearly expressing opposition to the construction of a professional, sustainable diplomatic service with consensual and bipartisan support. The diplomatic corps should be at the service of the state and national interests of the Republic of Albania and not of the parties in power.
Meanwhile, the Council of Albanian Ambassadors, a highly professional organization with prominent contributions in the field of diplomacy and international relations, which includes former foreign ministers, former ambassadors, former secretaries general of the MFA or former political directors, was denied the right to be heard in a special hearing session in the Parliamentary Committee for Europe and Foreign Policy, officially requested by the Council of Albanian Ambassadors, to protect an investment made over the years for a professional, career diplomacy, requested since the late 1990s by the European Union and the international community.
In this context, we call on the government and the parliamentary majority to withdraw the draft law and reopen the process of reviewing it in a comprehensive and bipartisan manner, taking seriously into consideration the suggestions and recommendations of those who have made and continue to make a valuable contribution to foreign policy and to the defense of the country's state and national interests. Such an approach would help consolidate a professional, depoliticized diplomatic corps that enjoys broad institutional and social support.
The MTEF assesses that, if adopted in this form, the draft law will further damage the diplomatic career system, will extremely politicize it and will cultivate a sense of permanent political uncertainty among career diplomats. Such a diplomatic service risks being perceived as biased and creates a negative precedent for any future political rotation, seriously undermining the continuity and credibility of Albanian diplomacy.
In this context, the Council of Albanian Ambassadors calls on the President of the Republic not to decree this law in the approved form and to exercise his constitutional powers to return it for reconsideration to the Assembly.
At the same time, the MTEF informs the public that it will pursue all institutional and legal avenues, including addressing this issue in the Constitutional Court, in defense of constitutional principles, the rule of law and a professional, depoliticized foreign service in service of Albania's long-term national interests.
