British Ambassador: SPAK, an independent institution and uninfluenced by politics

2026-04-26 21:19:00, Aktualitet CNA

British Ambassador: SPAK, an independent institution and uninfluenced by

The British Ambassador to our country, Nicholas Abbott, spoke this evening about justice reform, stating that Albania has made progress in the fight against corruption and organized crime.

During his speech in an interview with Euronews Albania, Abbott also praised the work of the Special Prosecution Office, saying that it is an institution that acts independently and without being influenced by politics.

He emphasized that the independence of SPAK is very important to preserve, while adding that in relations with internationals this is essential.

Ambassador Abbott also spoke about the leadership of SPAK by Chief Prosecutor Klodjan Braho, who he said is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Altin Dumani.

Excerpt from the interview

Do you consider that today the judiciary and SPAK are independent and unaffected by politics?

Yes, I think so. And I think that's one of the reasons why SPAK is viewed so positively by society here. Because it is perceived as independent, because it acts independently, and because people want it to be that way. I think that's an important element too. I think it's important for everyone to remember that people are not actually looking for an organization with prejudices or bias. What they are looking for is an independent institution. And we understand that very well. I think there are often people, some people in society here, who somehow believe that the internationals are behind SPAK. That's simply not true. Behind SPAK are Albanians. To be fair, behind SPAK is the government. Behind SPAK is the parliament. Despite the challenges associated with specific cases, no one is saying that they should be dismissed, stopped or closed. Everyone recognizes the need. I think there is a need for more than SPAK, as we talked about before. I think more needs to be done to strengthen the general prosecutor's office, more needs to be done to strengthen the judiciary. But independence within the rule of law is really very important. For SPAK to continue to be maintained as an independent institution, it is very important. And in our work with SPAK, this independence is essential. We have close cooperation, as do other international partners, because the issues we are facing do not remain only within the borders of Albania. They go beyond them.

For months, SPAK has been led by prosecutor Braho. What is your assessment? Is he on the same path as his predecessor Altin Dumani, who during his leadership, important names in politics today were arrested and accused of corruption?

To be very honest, I think it's a matter of continuity. I don't feel that there has been any particular change. You know, we have a close relationship. It works and continues to work. And this is really about the development of Albania. This is a key element: when you have well-established institutions, with their independence, with their integrity, that themselves want to be very clear about their mission, about their role and about what they want to achieve.

And even though SPAK gets a lot of attention, I think what we're seeing across the system is a much larger continuum. People are not treating their positions as some kind of fiefdom, or as a little kingdom that they rule themselves, but they're realizing that what the country needs are strong institutions that do what they need to do. They do it without corruption. They do it effectively, and ultimately serve the citizens. /CNA