EU for the situation in Albania: Democracy Imaged

For the European Commission, the opposition's decision to burn the mandates severely undermines the functioning of democracy in Albania and is seen as unproductive.

European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic, at the noon press conference, said parliament is the place for major discussions.

The opposition's “decision, in our view, seriously undermines the functioning of democracy in Albania, as Parliament is the place where important developments and reforms should be discussed and advanced, not boycotted. The opposition's decision is seen as unproductive, conflicts with the democratic election of Albanian citizens, as well as undermines the progress made so far on the European road”, Maja Kocijancic said.

The commission, according to Kocijancic, expects Albanian MPs to protect the ideas and principles of democracy in Parliament, and avoid acts of violence and promotional statements, Tch conveys.

“We expect the government and opposition to engage in discussions to overcome the situation, to the benefit of Albanian citizens. This is a very clear call, which we continue to consider valid”, Kocijancic said.

Regarding the Justice Reform, Kocijancic again stressed that the quality of the process is more important than its speed. The EC spokeswoman says the veting has yielded concrete results and that the Commission will stop widely in this process in its annual enlargement report in the spring.