EU targets health, education, police and cadastre as areas of corruption

The European Commission singled out the health, education, police and State Cadastre sectors as areas where the risk of corruption remains high, despite commendable efforts by SPAK and GJKKO to combat Albania’s number one problem. In its annual Rule of Law report, [Link] in which the Commission assesses the state of the rule of law in member states and candidate countries, published on Tuesday, it highlights the convictions by appeal of 106 people in 24 cases, decisions given between 1 January and 31 December 2023 at the Special Court of Appeal, including high-ranking officials. The report notes, however, that the institutional framework for preventing corruption “remains largely ineffective”.

“The General Directorate for Anti-Corruption was transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Minister of State for Public Administration and Corruption in June 2024,” the report notes.

“Deficiencies continue in this directorate’s capacity to effectively oversee the implementation and evaluation of preventive measures, in addition to overall risk assessments [for corruption],” the report states.

“Some efforts have been made, particularly in areas with high risk of corruption, but effective implementation has yet to be demonstrated,” the report further states.

The commission appears to have joined the concern raised earlier by SPAK head Altin Dumani about the lack of reporting to the prosecution from public institutions and public officials, noting that over the past year "the number of referrals fell even lower."

The State Police, whose image has been severely damaged in recent years by the exposure of a number of senior officials involved in organized crime structures, occupies a separate section in the Brussels report as a particular concern. The report notes that the Police Supervision Agency has increased its activity with the referral for criminal prosecution of 463 police officers. These efforts are however considered in the report as insufficient and the State Police is considered to be “still very vulnerable to corruption”.

The High Inspectorate for Declaration and Control of Assets and Conflict of Interest (HILDAKKI), the institution tasked with analyzing the asset declarations of senior officials to see whether or not there are unjustified assets, is not well evaluated in the report.

"Deficiencies remain in terms of the efficiency of the verification of assets and interests by the HIDACACI, including high-risk profiles," the report notes.

"There has been no progress in terms of the effectiveness of verification and further action appears to be needed to verify assets potentially hidden through private entities or front persons," the report states.

The report notes that the misuse of public funds during electoral campaigns “remains a concern” despite the initiative taken before the last elections by the CEC and SPAK. The report also considers as a “concern” the limited transparency in public procurement, especially public-private partnerships, while it considers as “inefficient” the mechanisms of internal control and inspection in public administration, these key instruments to ensure that citizens are not exploited in their relations with public administration.

"The risk of corruption is considerable in health, education, as well as within the police and the State Cadastre Agency," the report states.

The report has four chapters, one of which is dedicated to the media. The report reiterates Brussels' previous demands for comprehensive reform while emphasizing that concerns about the independence of Public Radio and Television have increased after the recent bipartisan process in parliament.

“High concentration in the media market continues to negatively impact media independence, while market penetration by high-profile business groups with political connections remains a serious concern,” the report states.

Preventive measures for the concentration of ownership in the media market are considered "limited" while the owners' connections to political interests are considered a "serious concern." Reporter.al