Changes from plenary report to adopted text

Change 1

ChangedE. whereas Albania opened negotiations on ‘Cluster 1: Fundamentals’ on 15 October 2024 and2024, on ‘Cluster 6: External Relations’ on 17 December 2024;2024, on ‘Cluster 2: Internal market’ on 14 April 2025 and on ‘Cluster 3: Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth’ on 22 May 2025;

Change 2

Changed2. Welcomes Albania’s ambition of closing accession negotiations by the end of 2027 and the swift progress made in recent years, notably the opening of two clusters of negotiating chapters in 2024;2024 and two further clusters so far in 2025; recalls that candidate countries undergo in-depth transformations to fulfil membership criteria during accession negotiations, which last as long as it takes to implement the necessary reforms; stresses the need to strengthen the transparency, accountability and inclusiveness of the accession process, including its parliamentary dimension; cautions against any actions that could undermine the system of checks and balances;

Change 3

Changed12. Takes note of the July 2024 amendments to Albania’s electoral code, which enable out-of-country voting by the Albanian diaspora and introduce partially open candidate lists; takes note of the parliamentary elections of 11 May 2025 and underlines that, based on the preliminary conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR, the elections were competitive and professionally conducted but took place in a highly polarised environment and contestants did not enjoy a level playing field; expresses concern that the ruling party benefited from the widespread use of administrative resources; notes that the publication of the OSCE/ODIHR final report, which will include the final assessment and recommendations to be implemented, is expected in the coming months; calls on all parties to demonstrate political will for a comprehensive and inclusive electoral reform to implement all recommendations from the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission fully and in a timely manner, including those on the electoral and party financing framework;

Change 4

Removed23. Welcomes the adoption of the pending implementing legislation on the rights of persons belonging to minorities, specifically on self-identification and the use of minority languages, and underscores that these by-laws have to be fully and effectively implemented in order to render the exercise of minority and education rights feasible in practice; calls on the authorities to increase the capacity of the State Committee on National Minorities; expresses concern over persistent issues of discrimination and social exclusion affecting minority groups in Albania; calls on the Albanian Government to fully respect and protect human rights, including the rights of minorities, and to ensure that all allegations of human rights abuses, including hate speech, are promptly and thoroughly investigated; urges the Albanian authorities to enhance institutional mechanisms to prevent discrimination and ensure the meaningful political participation of all communities, in line with the recommendations of the Commission’s 2024 report on Albania; calls on Albania to protect and promote the cultural heritage, languages and traditions of its national minorities; calls on Albania to provide education for national minorities in minority languages and to ensure adequate access to state primary, secondary and higher education for all of its citizens;

Added23. Calls on Albania to fully respect the autonomy of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania and refrain from any actions that undermine its freedom of religious expression or its property rights; calls for an end to interference in ecclesiastical appointments and for dialogue with religious authorities to safeguard religious pluralism;

Added24. Welcomes the adoption of the pending implementing legislation on the rights of persons belonging to minorities, specifically on self-identification and the use of minority languages, including at the level of local self-government units, and underscores that these by-laws have to be fully and effectively implemented in order to render the exercise of minority and education rights feasible in practice; calls on the authorities to ensure the effective implementation of the bylaws, notably by allocating adequate resources to central agencies and local government; calls on the authorities to ensure that procedures for selecting the members of the Committee on National Minorities are reviewed in line with the recommendations of the Commission and of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; calls on the authorities to increase the capacity of the State Committee on National Minorities and to ensure that it is fully functional and has adequate resources at its disposal; expresses concern over persistent issues of discrimination and social exclusion affecting minority groups in Albania; calls on the Albanian Government to fully respect and protect human rights, including the rights of minorities, and to ensure that all allegations of human rights abuses, including hate speech, are promptly and thoroughly investigated; urges the Albanian authorities to enhance institutional mechanisms to prevent discrimination and ensure the meaningful political participation of all communities, in line with the recommendations of the Commission’s 2024 report on Albania; calls on Albania to protect and promote the cultural heritage, languages and traditions of its national minorities; calls on Albania to provide education for national minorities in their mother tongue, including adequate primary and secondary schooling in Greek in regions traditionally inhabited by the Greek national minority, and to ensure unrestricted access to state primary, secondary and higher education for all of its citizens throughout the country, thus fully implementing the relevant legislation;

Added25. Calls on Albania to protect and preserve the religious and cultural heritage of the Greek Orthodox minority, including through the restoration and legal recognition of churches and cemeteries; calls on the authorities to refrain from expropriating or demolishing properties of historical or cultural significance to the Greek minority;

Change 5

Added27. Encourages the Government of Albania to address and rectify the injustices inflicted by the communist regime upon all religious denominations;

Added28. Expresses concern over the slow restitution of the religious properties confiscated by communists; notes with concern, furthermore, that, despite numerous requests by religious denominations, the Government of Albania has not returned all sacred objects, relics, icons and archives confiscated during the Communist regime;

Change 6

Removed26. Commends the successful 2024 census held in an atmosphere of trust and transparency and its results; believes that Albania should serve as a positive model for conducting a population census in the region;

Added30. Welcomes the conduct of the 2023 census in Albania; calls on the authorities to publish the detailed data and thematic analysis in line with the Commission’s recommendation in its 2024 report on Albania;

Change 7

Changed30.34. Expresses concern about continued political interference with and pressure on the judicial system; notes with concern shortcomings in the merit-based appointments of non-magistrate members of the High Judicial Council and the High Prosecution Council and their integrity; regrets the persistent challenges regarding the functioning of the judiciary noted in SPAK’s 2024 report;

Change 8

Changed35.39. Calls on Albania to continue aligning its legal framework, and notably the criminal code, with the EU acquis on the fight against organised crime and the trade in drugs and firearms, as well as combating cybercrime, extremism and terrorist threats; remains concerned about the persistent threat and diversification of activities of Albanian mafia groups in Europe; regrets the fact that, despite efforts to dismantle their networks, including through the use of data from the Sky-ECC encrypted messaging service in investigations, these criminal groups are still heavily involved in drug and arms trafficking, migrant smuggling, human trafficking and money laundering in several Member States, in particular in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and France; notes the appointment of additional prosecutors to the Special Prosecution Office as well as the establishment of a financial investigation unit; commends Albania’s participation in joint operations and cooperation under the European multidisciplinary platform against criminal threats (EMPACT) on drug trafficking, money laundering and cybercrime; further acknowledges the intensified cooperation with EUROPOL, EUROJUST, FRONTEX, INTERPOL and the CARIN Network in fighting organised crime and dismantling transnational crime networks; encourages Albania to strengthen its mechanisms for sharing intelligence with EU agencies to enhance regional stability; calls for sustained efforts to align Albania’s security policies with EU strategies, fostering a more integrated and resilient regional security framework; calls on Albania to strengthen the fight against human trafficking in cooperation with the Member States and EU agencies; stresses the need to counter the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, as Albania remains both a destination and a transit country; welcomes the adoption of a new strategy for the protection of victims of crime; emphasises the importance of continuous training for migration control personnel to ensure the effective implementation of European regulations and a stronger response to human trafficking networks;