The European Union's report on Albania welcomes the continuation of the justice reform, including the vetting process of judges and prosecutors, which, according to the document, has contributed to increasing accountability and integrity in the judicial system.
The report also commends the High Judicial Council for the new appointments of magistrates, which have helped reduce vacancies. However, the EU stresses that the independence of the judiciary remains essential for the rule of law and calls for further efforts to increase the accountability, quality and efficiency of justice.
The report still notes ongoing problems with the efficiency of the courts, the implementation of final decisions, the backlog of cases, the consistency of jurisprudence, and attempts to unfairly influence the administration of justice.
Corruption remains a major concern. The report stresses that Albania needs to further strengthen specialized police capacities and consolidate its track record in investigations, prosecutions and final convictions, particularly in high-level corruption cases.
The EU welcomes the work of specialized institutions against corruption and organized crime, including SPAK, but calls for the guarantee of their sustainable independence, sufficient resources and operational capacities, without limiting their investigative powers and without compromising their work.
The report also calls for strengthening the tracing, freezing, confiscation and administration of criminal assets, through systematic financial investigations and better inter-institutional and cross-border cooperation.
Regarding law and order and organised crime, the report underlines the importance of effectively combating money laundering, drug trafficking and criminal networks. The Albanian authorities are urged to intensify cooperation with EU agencies, such as Europol and Eurojust, and to accelerate the approximation of the legal framework on organised crime to European standards.
In the chapter on the media, the report welcomes Albania's improvement in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, from 99th place in 2024 to 80th place in 2025. However, the EU calls for further efforts to protect freedom of expression and media pluralism.
The report calls for greater transparency on potential conflicts of interest of media owners, guarantees against political and economic pressure on journalists, and effective investigation of threats and attacks on media professionals. It also calls for greater transparency on media ownership and the distribution of state advertising, to protect editorial independence and pluralism.
The EU strongly condemns the hostility towards independent journalists and media professionals in Albania, including verbal attacks and rhetoric against the media by senior officials, denigrating campaigns and misogynistic online harassment, especially against journalists reporting on the rule of law, corruption and justice.
The report also expresses concern about the high number of lawsuits against journalists. It welcomes the recent amendments to the Criminal Code, but regrets that they have not yet led to the full decriminalization of defamation and insult, in line with European and international standards.
