SPAK investigations/ Rama: Calm and determined, to continue the fight against impunity

2024-12-28 19:05:59, Politikë CNA

SPAK investigations/ Rama: Calm and determined, to continue the fight against

In Albania, despite the fact that the investigations of the Special Prosecutor's Office have involved high-level officials and also high-level representatives of the ruling Socialist Party, Prime Minister Edi Rama says that he is calm and determined that the battle against impunity will continue. In an interview for the Voice of America, the prime minister takes stock of the country's main developments, from progress in European integration to the economy, the debate on the opinion of the Venice Commission on the case of former minister Olta Xhaçka's mandate and expectations for the upcoming elections. PArliAmEntAry

VOA: Mr. Prime Minister, first of all, thank you for this year-end interview with Voice of America. I would like to start with an important event for Albania this year, its progress in integration towards the European Union. Within two months, Albania managed to open two groups of chapters. However, your ambition is to conclude the talks by 2027. How realistic is this, considering that our neighbors have passed years and are still far away?

Prime Minister Rama: This is not my ambition right now, but it is the joint strategic plan written and agreed together with the European Commission. It is a concrete plan, with concrete steps, with concrete dates, and it is very ambitious, but we are committed to realizing it point by point and, as far as we are concerned, to complete the tasks for closing the negotiations within the year that we have defined.

SPAK investigations/ Rama: Calm and determined, to continue the fight against

Prime Minister Edi Rama

Voice of America: Is the Albanian administration prepared to face this process? Because I'm referring here to the latest European Commission report, and let me quote, where it says that the government, for example, "continued to adopt policies and laws, raising concerns about compliance with EU standards", or that "a good part of the recommendations of the European Commission were either partially implemented, or not implemented at all".

Prime Minister Rama: These have nothing to do with the question or the content of the question about the administration, because how prepared our administration is, this is of course not visible, if you follow the rivers of news, where the half-truths are the biggest lies, and pure lies are ruling material. But this is evident from the facts and the most meaningful fact for the preparation of our administration is the fact that our administration faced not only successfully, but also under the surprised eyes of the European Commission the entire process of preparing the negotiations, which is an extremely difficult process.

On the other hand, our administration is judged by prestigious institutions, which function as institutions of the European Union, where I mean in this case SIGMA, which qualifies our administration, if I'm not mistaken, in 4 out of 5 fields of research of the capacities of administration, as the best in the region.

Voice of America: Mr. Prime Minister, corruption remains a widely debated topic over the years. You have often stated a series of measures, interventions, reforms that have been taken, however in international evaluations, even in the latest report of the European Commission, it continues to be considered a serious concern, it is even said that "preventive efforts have had a limited impact" .

Prime Minister Edi Rama

Prime Minister Rama: Corruption was a highly debated topic for almost two years in the elections of the United States of America, and it was not a one-way debated topic, but it was a two-way debated topic, which means that in there is a lot of this debate about corruption; there are of course truths, which in the case of Albania we cannot deny, there are many untruths that are attractive in the political and media arena, there are many analyzes that are based on many speculations, but, to return and closed the answer: corruption in Albania is a problem, never so big as to deserve nightly chatter in all kinds of towers and on all kinds of platforms, but a problem that, precisely because it is real, we are facing it either with reforms, or with the modernization of services and with the modernization of processes within the administration, using technology, either through new institutions of justice and definitely, either thanks to public support, which in this fight against this evil is a support wide.

Voice of America: Are you concerned about a significant number of former officials, high-ranking officials, your representatives, mayors and former mayors, and recently also deputies, who are under investigation by SPAK, at least for abuse of office or corruption?

Prime Minister Rama: This question has been asked since SPAK has started to operate and it always surprises me, because it could be asked persistently, if I were a person caught unawares in front of the products or results of a reform made by others. Yes, I am not a person found suddenly and the reform in justice was done by me at the head and the Socialist Party all in support of this reform. So, of course, I do not feel good in the human and personal aspect for people I know, with whom I have worked, with whom I have collaborated from afar or closely, but when it comes to the task I have, when it comes to the mission that he leads, when it comes to the fact that this is a painful process, through which Albania will finally become the state that never was and thanks to which impunity in Albania is now not a myth, but is a fallen monument, and for the first time in the history of Albania, since the declaration of statehood in 1912, there are individuals connected to political power, whether in the ranks of the majority that governs or in the ranks of the majority that has governed, then here it is surprising to anyone's surprise, but I personally feel absolutely calm, clear and determined, even more determined, that this battle will continue and there will be no compromise.

SPAK

Voice of America: The question about concern is related to this, not to the fact that you are surprised by this, but can I ask you about the case of Mr. Veliaj recently involved in the investigations? Does this damage the image of your Party?

Prime Minister Rama: I do not comment on individual cases, I have never done so, except when there was a final court decision, as was the case of a repeat defamation case. But I can only say that the fact that anyone is under investigation does not make anyone guilty, and on the other hand, trials are not held in the media, but trials are held in legal and constitutional processes.

Voice of America: It is about important names of politics and public life. So, the obligation is to get an opinion from you.

Prime Minister Rama: My opinion is known. It is universally known. In front of justice and in front of the law and in front of the right of the institutions of justice to do their work, it is not the names that determine for whom they do or for whom they do not do the work, but the facts and the freedoms and rights of to all, that must be exercised and put into practice, starting from freedom and the right of justice, to do its duty.

Erion Veliaj

VOA: One last question related to this chapter. Is it a serious fact that your former deputy Ergys Çyrbja, according to the investigations so far, turns out to have been catapulted to the top of the lists for deputies with the support of organized crime?

Prime Minister Rama: First, ask me a question that has already been answered here, and it is pointless to ask for another answer. So, these are completely unrelated to my duties and functions. I am simply responsible for my work, for my duty. My duty is not to do the work of another independent power.

Voice of America: Lord Rama, focusing on the economy; the data of the third quarter of this year also showed a stable growth at significant levels of the economy. But what stands out is that this growth is mainly based on construction and tourism. Is this the economic model that Albania will continue to follow because, in any case, it is about two sectors that are vulnerable?

Prime Minister Rama: First, the sources of Albania's economic growth are much more than that. Secondly, this is a stage of development, when construction has a significant weight. And thirdly, I don't think that, since construction has a significant weight, we should consider this a disaster. I think this is a big plus at this stage of development.

I don't think we should mourn the fact that we have the airport with the highest growth in Europe, confirmed by international institutions. A much higher growth than the growth of the second country. Tirana Airport today has more passengers, not relative growth, than Belgrade Airport, which has historically been the capital of the region, while our Rinas was a coop, where passengers were counted like chickens in the morning, when they left the coop , and at dinner, when they entered the cottage.

SPAK investigations/ Rama: Calm and determined, to continue the fight against

Voice of America: In the economy, another data that appeared in the results of the third quarter is the agricultural sector in decline for three consecutive quarters. A sector that has an important weight in the Gross Domestic Product, somewhere around 18%, if I'm not mistaken, that offers employment or self-employment for a fairly high number of Albanians. How do you explain this?

Prime Minister Rama: It is not an irreversible decline. It is a temporary moment, foreseen by us and as a result of blocking a series of investments by the EU program. But, in the meantime, we have taken measures and you will see that, next year and the following years, because of these measures and because of some alternative financing, we will have an increase, which will be greater than the time of the greatest growth of these years in agriculture.

Voice of America: In the last normative act, you have estimated somewhere around 14 million euros. Do you think they are enough?

Prime Minister Rama: It has nothing to do with it, it is simply the payment of the obligations assumed towards the farmers and is not part of the systemic measures that I spoke about and that we have already considered and will start implementing, starting from the beginning of the year next.

VOA: Sticking to the budget data. We enter the second half of December with a fairly high surplus, somewhere around one billion euros. How is it explained that executive institutions, state agencies cannot manage to spend the money that is available?

Prime Minister Edi Rama

Prime Minister Rama: In fact, we will not be left with practically any unspent funds at the end of the year, while there are many reasons, which is not the place to discuss them, why the implementation of projects has a relatively lower progress than what would be desirable. This is also related to the fact that procurement processes take their time, complaint processes take their time, and so on. But even for this, I believe that we have the right measures in place to correct the way the funds are used and to extend their allocation in time, regardless of the prolonged procedures, which are not in our hands, as I said there are many complaints, for example, or reversals of procedures, which speaks of a considerable strengthening of the administration in terms of the rule of law, which is also confirmed by the European Commission through SIGMA, which ranks Albania first and with difference from the second place in terms of public procurement: and all these are, so to speak, internal tensions of an organism, which grows and develops.

Voice of America: Mr. Rama, before moving on to some questions related to the upcoming elections, I would like to dwell a little on a development of the parliament. There was a debate, which lasted for more than two years, on the issue of the mandate of deputy Olta Xhaçka. Your majority supported and argued the idea that deputies cannot be forced to vote in a certain way, thereby rejecting the decision of the Constitutional Court. However, the Venice Commission in its Opinion, although it recognizes this right of the deputies, that they may not be forced on the way they should vote, specifies that "the Court had given two decisions - and here I am quoting the Opinion - and the effective implementation of these decisions cannot be conditioned by the vote or the parliamentary majority". Why do the representatives of your majority, Mr. Rama, continue to defend the thesis that the Venice Commission gave you the right?

SPAK investigations/ Rama: Calm and determined, to continue the fight against

Prime Minister Rama: Because the representatives of our parliamentary majority read Albanian very well. The Commission's decision is more Albanian than it can be. Now, if we then enter into toys of a legal nature, then we know very well that two different jurists, because of the different position, can make two different interpretations. But the decision of the Venice Commission is clear: the need should not have arisen at all, because it does not exist, it is outside the most basic logic of the functioning of a democratic state, where the three powers are independent of each other, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive, for a court, even a Constitutional one, to impose on the deputies how they should raise their hands. This does not happen.

Voice of America: Yes, what is implied by the Opinion is that it should not be voted at all. It should go directly to the Court.

Prime Minister Rama: This is another excessive interpretation, because the opinion of the Venice Commission is as clear as the light of the sun: Parliament is not imposed, and if something is going to pass in parliament, it will be decided by the parliament, so no one else decides.

Voice of America: Mr. Rama, the next elections are on the horizon. What will be the offer of the Socialist Party, which is already seeking a fourth term, because you don't measure yourself with others, you have to measure yourself?

Elections 2025/ Rama: SP will have the most profound victory of all races
December 28, 18:52

Prime Minister Rama: I believe that if there is an offer that needs very little explanation while being supported by many facts, it is the Socialist Party's offer. For this reason, the Socialist Party will win in May next year and will have the most profound victory of all these races that we have won one after another, after another, after another, after another, after another, because we are a political force, which is incomparable in every aspect, we cannot.

Voice of America: Then, Mr. Rama, what is the reason that you practically warned, that in the safe part of the lists there will be mainly young names, that is, not those who have more than one mandate, that is, that more than half of your MPs to be new names, not the current composition of MPs?

Prime Minister Rama: This is an issue we will look at carefully down the road. What I want to reiterate is that the reason we can't is because we're the first to wake up and the last to sleep, and I'm the first to wake up, and the last to sleep, so until someone else, some others, will wake up earlier and sleep later and in their working day will do work and not talk, the Socialist Party will do what it says and mean what it does, and Albanians will support him for what he does and for what he says. And in terms of the team, this gives us the opportunity to have a new team that is even better than the one we have today, because in the meantime, as you said, we measure ourselves, not the opponents, because for t measured with the opponents, we have to stop, we have to turn our heads back, we have to put our hands over our eyes, we have to see where they are, even then we start measuring, which we don't have to do. But on the other hand, we have many things to improve and I have said for a long time that we know how to do our own opposition much better than those who oppose us from outside themselves. This sounds like rhetoric, but it is not rhetoric. We do a lot of analysis, we do a lot of internal discussions, we do a lot of opinion polls, we listen to a lot of people across the street, and we're very aware that we're not the best, we're not as good as I would like them to be. to be better than us...