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Albania: A Pre- and Post-1990 Snapshot

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International Aid, Administrative Reform and the Politics of EU Accession

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Abstract

This chapter is an account of the sociopolitical developments related to administrative reform in post-communist Albania. A parliamentary democracy and transition economy, Albania is a member of the UN, NATO, OSCE, the Council of Europe (CoE) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is also one of the founding members of the Union for the Mediterranean and an EU ‘official candidate country’ since June 2014. This chapter explores the main aid donors and their support for public administration reform.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Albanian: Lëvizja Antifashiste Nacional Çlirimtare (LANÇ).

  2. 2.

    Albanian: Fronti Demokratik.

  3. 3.

    Albanian: Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë (PPSH).

  4. 4.

    Albanian: Partia Demokratike.

  5. 5.

    The 12 key priorities/recommendations identified by the EC Opinion included: (i) public administration reform; (ii) establishment of political dialogue and proper functioning of the parliament; (iii) adoption of pending laws requiring a reinforced majority in parliament; (iv) reform of the electoral code in line with OSCE-ODIHR recommendations; (v) elections conducted in line with European and international standards; (vi) appointment of the Ombudsman & High and Constitutional Court; (vii) independent functioning of the judicial system; (viii) combating corruption; (ix) tangible results on fighting against organized crime; (x) respect of property rights; (xi) protection of human rights and vulnerable groups; and (xii) improvement of treatment of detainees in police stations, pre-trial detention and prisons (EMA 2011).

  6. 6.

    This will be discussed in detail in Chapter 4.

  7. 7.

    IPA (Instruments of Pre-Accession) I was the first of the two streamlined mechanisms created by the EU to deliver aid efficiently to the Western Balkans.

  8. 8.

    https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/instruments/overview_en.

  9. 9.

    Administrative reform and capacity-building initiatives under CARDS (Community Assistance for Reconstruction, Development and Stabilisation in the Balkans) and IPA (see fn 41 and 42) will be discussed in Chapter 6.

  10. 10.

    A Trust Fund of US$7.19 m (€5.8 million) with contributions from seven donors (DfID, the Netherlands, the EU, ADA, SIDA, Italy and SDC) and managed by the World Bank was established in 2008 and aimed to provide support to the implementation of different components of the Integrated Planning System—a system focusing on strengthening the capacities of the GoA on strategy coordination, implementation and monitoring and aid coordination (EA 2008). As donor-supported mechanisms/institutions, the MDTF and IPS will be discussed in detail in Chapter 7.

  11. 11.

    Total disbursement rate of almost 74% (over €34 million).

  12. 12.

    The current EC’s support to administrative reform and capacity building under IPA totals €4 million.

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  1. The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

    Artan Karini

  2. Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

    Artan Karini

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Karini, A. (2019). Albania: A Pre- and Post-1990 Snapshot. In: International Aid, Administrative Reform and the Politics of EU Accession. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97834-5_2

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