“Trialog” on RTSH / Kthupi: Von der Leyen puts the emphasis on the steps taken on paper

The progress of the European integration process and the messages conveyed during the official visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were at the centre of discussions on the “Trialog” programme on RTSH, moderated by journalist Alba Alishani. The analysis panel dwelt on the difference between formally fulfilling the legal framework and implementing it in practice.

During the programme, lawyer Rezart Kthupi stressed that the country has made progress in aligning its legislation with the acquis communautaire, but underlined that this does not necessarily amount to a substantial novelty in the everyday life of the institutions.

The challenges with European standards and the enforcement of laws

In his analysis, Kthupi pointed out that Albania’s ability to draft and adopt laws according to European Union requirements has never been lacking, while the main bottleneck remains achieving the real standards required by the union.

On this gap between writing laws and enforcing them, he said that “we have never had a problem with writing laws, despite the problems we may have in this sector too.”

“We have always been able to produce laws, we have been able to produce laws to move closer to the European Union as well. What is our problem is the problem of standards, regardless of the law… If we talk about writing laws, yes, we are moving at a very good pace. If we talk about achieving those standards we need to integrate into the European Union, that is then a separate discussion,” he said.

The European Commission’s political stance

The jurist went on to dwell on the diplomatic language used by senior European Union leaders during official visits, analysing how the European Commission assesses Albania’s progress.

According to him, von der Leyen’s approach is based mainly on the visible progress on the bureaucratic and legislative plane.

“If you look at Ms Von der Leyen’s press conference, what she puts the emphasis on is always the qualitative steps we take on paper. But she never comments on the real actions that happen in Albania, or she tries to always look at the glass from its full half. That is her political viewpoint, and Ms Von der Leyen has her right to see it as it is,” Kthupi said.