Cristina Guarda, an MEP from the Greens Group in the European Parliament, believes that the civic protests in Albania are also sending a direct message to the institutions of the European Union. According to her, the situation in the country cannot be judged solely through official reports.
In an interview with News24, she responded to the question of whether the continuing waves of protests could have an impact on Albania’s path toward European integration.
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Guarda said that in recent years, in her capacity as a member of the European Parliament and of the delegation, she has submitted several written questions to the European Commission, including about Vlora Airport. She added that many meetings have been held where the rule of law and respect for it were discussed, but she had the impression that the Commission had not paid proper attention to these issues. For this reason, according to her, the protests are clearly showing that the European Union and the Commission should not examine the situation only through documents, but also by listening to officials and offices on the ground, as well as by gathering information to improve the quality of policies.
Regarding reports on corruption, the business climate and the functioning of the rule of law, the MEP stressed that the European Union treats these topics with the utmost seriousness.
She said that the people who follow the EU enlargement process are deeply engaged with the issue of respect for the law, linking this directly to the question raised. Guarda also emphasized that the Commission’s analyses of respect for the rule of law across Europe are quite impressive and that this standard is given very great weight. According to her, respect for the rule of law is important not only for candidate countries, but also for the European Union’s member states themselves.
Asked about corruption accusations against senior officials in Albania and about SPAK’s investigations, Guarda stated that these developments are being closely followed.
She recalled that corruption was also addressed in their latest report and that SPAK’s results are also being monitored very closely.
In the part related to media freedom, commenting on the case of News24, the MEP expressed regret and said she would examine the situation in the meetings she will have in Brussels.
During the interview, Erion Kaçorri recalled that the European Parliament has often raised concerns about media freedom and pointed out that the interview was being conducted on an important news television channel and one critical of the government, which, according to him, was shut down arbitrarily a year earlier, while News24 journalists were thrown out. Asked how she assessed this development, Guarda replied that she was very sorry and that she would analyze the situation in meetings with the offices dealing with respect for the law and with all the other chapters in Brussels.
Erion Kaçorri also asked her whether issues related to media freedom could affect the progress of European integration. In response, Cristina Guarda said that she does not know exactly, as she is not an expert in this field. Nevertheless, she acknowledged that, also from her personal experience in Italy and from observing the freedom of journalists around the world, this remains one of the most important issues over which EU institutions should exercise caution.
