The European Commission acknowledges that the country has continued to make progress in democracy and rule of law. However, it is criticized for lacking dialogue between political parties. The proper functioning of state institutions also requires consolidation.

“Despite some progress, the fight against corruption and organized crime remains a major challenge”, report says. It says an overall anti-corruption strategy has not started, and emphasizes that corruption “remains widespread and serious problem”.

The report adds: “Fighting corruption in the judiciary remains a key issue”, and it urges a thorough investigation of the Gerdec explosion case. “Much work is needed on all aspects of the issue, including judicial accountability and transparency of political party founding,” the paper notes.

The report notes only limited progress in preventing money laundering, as well as the fight against drug trafficking, which “remains serious concern”. Albania is lacking an adequate court infrastructure, the report says, stressing a “comprehensive reform strategy for the judiciary is missing”.

According to the paper, Albania needs to undertake greater efforts to establish an independent, efficient, and merit-based civil service.

Albania has made progress in aligning its legislation, policies, and capacities with European standards and in implementing Interim agreement commitments. However, in the field of justice, freedom, and security, country has progressed “unevenly”; therefore, the Commission considers there is a need for overall improvement.

In addition, although Albania is participating in dialogue over the liberalization of the visa regime, the report says it has not yet met the EU’s standards regarding the visa regime. In this regard, the report recommends Albania to start issuing biometric passports.