Albania's Parliament Speaker at the Headmistress Conference in KiE: Kosovo acceptable to Council of Europe

During her speech Spiropali stressed the importance of strengthening democracy in Albania and the country's progress towards integration into the European Union.

She stressed that Albania has made major progress in the integration process with the European Union. According to the chief parliament, Albania is the leader in promoting regional co-operation and European integration of countries in the region.

During her speech, Spiropali also stopped at Kosovo, where it underlined that the Council of Europe is not complete with the lack of Europe's newest state. The Speaker of the Parliament demanded that Kosovo be admitted to the Council of Europe.

Her full speech:

Democracy does not weaken overnight, nor does it remain strong without effort. Political pictures are changing across Europe, trust in institutions is being tested and foreign forces seek to manipulate public opinion.

At times these changes are clearly recognized; they unfold gradually, reshaping standards, affecting governance and challenging the foundations on which we rely.

Albania has experienced in its first self how fragile and at the same time how strong democracy can be.

30 years ago, when Albania was accepted as a member of the Council of Europe, after an absolute isolation, democracy for Albanians was still just an ideal, rule of law had just begun to replace party-state and party-law, and human rights, especially political, religious and property rights, had begun to turn into an aspirin for citizens.

Albania, 30 years after membership in the Council of Europe, has arrived before the gates of the European Union, with substantial and tangible achievements on three major pillars of the large European organisation.

The April 2024 Parliamentary Assembly's decision to remove Albania from the full monitoring procedure is a confirmation of our achievements.
Albania's national strategic goal of European Union membership by 2030 and the completion of technical negotiations by 2027 has found full support from the European Union.

The European Parliament's decision to open the Regional Office for the Western Balkans in Albania is a confirmation of the fact that Albania is not only the candidate country with the clearest vision, higher speed and greater commitment towards the European family, but is also a centre and leader in promoting regional co-operation and European integration of countries in the region.

Albania's progress towards the European Union is also the result of close co-operation and recognition by the Council of Europe of our achievements, especially in the independence of branches of governance, deep and inclusive reform in justice, the fight against corruption and organised crime, the protection of minorities and human rights, media freedom, etc.

Albania's Assembly remains steadfast in leadership, guaranteeing democratic legitimacy and including the European integration process, advancing and deepening reforms, supporting institutions of justice and independence, and protecting democratic institutions.

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That democracy that fails to maintain institutional balance risks losing its ability to serve its people.

When parliaments struggle to exercise control, when controls and balances begin to weaken, governance departs its essential goal.

The role of legislative organs lies well beyond the adoption of laws; their role lies in their ability to ask questions, challenge and make governments accountable.

Steps have been taken in Albania to strengthen parliamentary supervision, ensuring that institutions work with each other rather than against each other.

The Assembly has recently established two special commissions: The Commission for deepening the fight against corruption and accelerating the paces of membership in the European Union and the Commission for Protection of Democracy from dezinformation and foreign interventions in the democratic process.

However, single institutions cannot support democracy. Laws may govern societies, but public trust determines their legitimacy. Albania has tried to bring decision-making close to people, opening new channels for engagement and fostering a political culture that promotes participation beyond electoral cycles.
A hearing system is much more likely to last. Public engagement depends not only on access, but on awareness.

Individuals without the ability to evaluate information in a critical way become more vulnerable to manipulation, and public debate loses its support in the reasoning disk.

Albania has expanded media education efforts, not as an academic initiative, but as a practical response to a world where mismanagement can distort reality.

The Council of Europe is not complete with the lack of Europe's newest state, Kosovo. It is hard to find another state that, after 26 years of freedom and 17 years of independence, has built a virtual democracy like Kosovo.

Therefore, Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe, which has the support of the Parliamentary Assembly, is Albania's Parliament Speaker's most important request to this conference.

Democracys in our countries cannot thrive steadily as freedom, sovereignty, and the integrity of nations are attacked.

So our firm support for Ukraine against Russia's aggression is not only a contribution to peace and security but also to the protection of democratic values and systems in our countries.

I wish you a successful continuation of discussions at this important Conference.

Thank you for your attention.