EU, US urge Albania to keep vetting judges, prosecutors

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The European Union and the United States on Tuesday urged Albania to pass a constitutional amendment to complete the vetting of the judiciary in its path toward becoming a member of the bloc’s one day.

A judicial reform approved in 2016, following direct assistance from Brussels and Washington, has vetted hundreds of judges and prosecutors but some 300 others have still remained. Its five-year mandate is over and the parliament should approve a constitutional amendment to extend the vetting process, the world powers urged.

A joint EU-US statement said “the vetting of judges and prosecutors is a fundamental element of justice reform.”

Judicial corruption has plagued post-communist Albania, hampering its democratic processes. The justice system reform aims at ensuring that judges and prosecutors are independent from politics and to root out bribery.

Some 500 judges and prosecutors out of 800 have been vetted, including firing 180 of them. Another 70 others have withdrawn from their posts. Only about 190 have passed.

An International Monitoring Operation has been overseeing the vetting process which checks that judges’ and prosecutors’ property had been acquired legitimately or that they had met anti-corruption and professional standards throughout their careers.

Both EU and U.S. “strongly” support the vetting extension urging Albanian parliamentarians to “see this as a matter of national interest.”

“A vote for the voting extension is a vote for the future of Albania in the EU,” said the statement.

Albania, a NATO member since 2009, was granted EU candidate status in 2014 and hopes to launch negotiations likely this year.

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