IDM, study: Only 1 in 5 draft laws in Albania this year are part of the European Integration Plan

2024-02-13 22:26:45, Aktualitet CNA

IDM, study: Only 1 in 5 draft laws in Albania this year are part of the European

In Tirana, the Institute for Democracy and Mediation published today a study on the government's new law-making agenda, where it observed that only 1 in every 5 draft acts for 2024 is part of Albania's obligations in the European integration process, known as the National European Integration Plan.

IDM, study: Only 1 in 5 draft laws in Albania this year are part of the European

The author of the study, Gjergj Vurmo, says in an interview with the Voice of America that nearly 1/3 of the draft acts for this year do not originate from this National European Integration Plan.

At the end of December, the Government approved the General Analytical Program of Draft Acts (draft-law and draft-vcm), which foresees to be drawn up by the executive and sent to the Assembly during 2024.

The author of this study, Gjergj Vurmo, told the Voice of America that "Albania is at a very important stage of the European integration process, as last year it approved at least 5 strategic documents in response to the group of chapters of cluster 1, which are expected to open soon in the negotiations with the EU, but it seems that the content of the General Analytical Program on law-making for 2024 does not respond sufficiently to this intensity of work".

The IDM study on this document that this percentage of 22.5% does not reflect the current stage of Albania's EU membership process nor the level of preparations, which it must show in accordance with the expectations and deadlines defined in the strategic documents within of the Cluster 1 chapters of negotiations with the EU.

"The fact that all the attention of the Albanian policy-making and institutions, already with the opening of the negotiations, at least in the next 10 years, will be focused in more than half of its volume precisely on the priority of integration, suggests that the law-making agenda should also fits this intensity. Everything starts with the alignment of the legislation", says Mr. Vurmo for the Voice of America.

The study notes that over 2/3 of the draft acts expected for this year are draft VKM and less than 1/3 are draft laws.

In emphasizing that, although the legislative initiatives are known to the deputies and 20 thousand citizens, it is the government that is expected to draft over 90 percent of the draft laws that will be sent to the Assembly, fulfilling the priorities of the socialist majority, as well as the strategic objectives, including EU membership, a process accelerated in the last two years after the decision to open negotiations.

IDM, study: Only 1 in 5 draft laws in Albania this year are part of the European

Another finding of the study is that while 22.5% originate from the EU integration plan, most of them come from 50% from national strategies and 41% from the government program, but there are also 31% from expected new draft acts. which do not originate from any of them. Author Vurmo says that for this 31 percent of draft acts, which do not originate from integration, program and strategies, we have an unknown over the other source, for as much data as is available.

"Over 30 percent of the draft acts foreseen for this year do not have as a source or do not come as a result of any of these three sources. This is a mystery, I would say, which can be explained either by the real existence of another source from which they come, but which should be made transparent, if this is the case, or it can also be a consequence of the mismanagement of the process of planning draft acts, or their misexecution by the proposing institutions, which have not established the real source of these draft acts", says Gjergj Vurmo for Voice of America.

Speaking about the unknown sources of draft laws, Mr. Vurmo recalled during the interview a joint study of the IDM with Transparency International in 2021, where it turned out that none of the custom-made laws were part of the general analytical program of draft acts of approved by the Government for the relevant year.

The IDM study emphasizes the importance of inclusiveness, transparency and public consultations in the process of preparing draft acts, which were lacking in previous study periods./ VOA