654th Meeting of the Permanent Council
Mr. Chairman, allow me to recall that the Council of the European Union held in Luxembourg on 12 June 2006 called on Albania to intensify its efforts on a number of priorities, set out in the European Partnership, including on ensuring that the forthcoming local elections fully comply with international standards. Moreover, on 4 August 2006, the Presidency of the European Union made a statement urging both Government and opposition to assume their fundamental political responsibility for the future of the country by preparing free and orderly local elections. On 11 December 2006 the Council of the European Union stressed that the government and the opposition need to work together constructively to ensure the free and fair conduct of the local elections in Albania. This was reiterated by a declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on 16 January 2007.Holding free and fair elections is fundamental for democracy and is an essential requirement for closer relations with the EU. After a year-long impasse on election-related matters, finally an agreement was reached by the political parties on arrangements for the local elections and legal amendments to the Constitution and Electoral Code were adopted in January 2007. Under these amendments, a number of OSCE/ODIHR recommendations were addressed, especially on provisions pertaining to the vote count and the complaints and appeals process. The EU welcomes these improvements.
However, the EU deeply regrets the continued disagreement between the government and the opposition which complicated the legislative and administrative preparations for the local elections. We note with concern that the leading political parties in Albania have yet to demonstrate political will and responsibility commensurate with the important role given to them in the electoral process.
The EU has taken note of the preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission. ODIHR concluded that while the 18 February local elections provided for a competitive contest, they were another missed opportunity for Albania to conduct elections fully in line with OSCE Commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. ODIHR reported that while the election day was calm overall, voting was marred by procedural shortcomings, and at times by tensions.
The EU urges the Albanian authorities and political parties to address the shortcomings identified in ODIHR’s Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions without delay, and make full use of the expertise and assistance offered by ODIHR to that end, in particular to address the recommendations that will be published in the Election Observation Mission’s final report. Most significantly, there is a need for Albania to urgently develop a reliable system for civil registration and a uniform system of addresses. These are endeavours of national importance in advance of the next parliamentary elections, which in order to be successful must enjoy broad cross-party support.
The EU takes this opportunity to strongly commend the OSCE Presence in Albania for its efforts to assist the Albanian authorities over the past years to improve electoral standards. We consider that the Presence should continue to play a major role in supporting the ambitious process of reforms, particularly electoral reform. We would also like to express our appreciation for the work of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission as well as ODIHR’s important contribution to the electoral reform process.
The EU reaffirms the European perspective of Albania, as set out in the Thessaloniki Agenda and the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Albania on the one part and the EU and its member states on the other part. The EU will continue to support Albania’s efforts to conduct the reforms necessary for moving closer to the EU.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia, EFTA country Norway, a member of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this statement.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
