08/02/2024
The European project EU4Justice continues to work in Albania with the aim of accompanying Albanian justice institutions in improving their capacities and aligning them with European standards
EU4Justice lead experts, Judge Arturo Valdés and Prosecutor Alvaro García, together with the rest of the project team.
Since 2005, the European Union has been supporting the efforts of Albanian institutions to bring the judicial system in line with European standards through its programme “Strengthening the Judicial System in Albania – EURALIUS”. After five phases carried out between 2016 and 2021. Based on the results and lessons learned from the last EURALIUS phase, the EU4Justice project was launched with the aim to support the Albanian judiciary in its justice reform by strengthening independence, transparency, efficiency, accountability and public confidence in the Albanian judicial system in line with EU standards.
A meeting was held to follow up on the ongoing work of the project. The representative of the Delegation of the European Union of Albania underlined that the three Albanian self-government bodies (High Judicial Council, High Prosecutorial Council, High Justice Inspector), play a remarkable role in the new Albanian justice system, in line with the expectations and priorities of the European Union (EU) that will be addressed through the project. Precisely, the justice reform sector is a priority in the framework of Albania’s EU accession process.
In addition, the representative of the Delegation of the European Union in Albania pointed out that there are some points in the roadmap that are relevant to this project, such as the focus on judicial efficiency and the reduction of delays, the focus on the career of judges and prosecutors, as well as the necessary reinforcement of the control mechanisms of the integrity and independence of the judicial system.
The representatives of the FIIAPP thanked the institutions with which the project is working and took the opportunity to express Spain’s commitment and support in the process of Albania’s accession to the EU, through various projects with European funding, such as EU4Justice and EU4Focal. In EU4Justice, the FIIAPP is contributing to the milestones already reached with the work of a magistrate and a prosecutor as lead experts based in the Albanian capital, Tirana, as well as through the participation of thirteen short-term experts in the six activities carried out from February to December 2023.
