Brussels, 16 September 2025 (MIA) - Minister of European Affairs Orhan Murtezani, alongside his Albanian, Serbian and Montenegrin counterparts, is participating in a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council (GAC) in Brussels on Tuesday, discussing the European Commission’s 2025 rule of law report as one of the items on the agenda.  

According to the Ministry of European Affairs, the discussion will use the European Commission’s 2025 rule of law report, reviewing the situation along the four pillars of justice systems, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism, and other institutional issues linked to checks and balances. 

The report notes that the country continued implementing its judicial reform and measures were taken across the judiciary to enhance transparency, while some concerns remain regarding appointment decisions, as well as interference and pressure. 

"Legislative drafting processes are ongoing regarding the independence of the judiciary and the autonomy of the public prosecution service. The limited financial resources allocated to the judiciary continue to affect its financial autonomy. While the lack of human resources was partly mitigated by new recruitments, shortages of staff remain a concern," reads the document.    

It states that efforts to further improve the digital tools for case management and court statistics continue, but challenges remain, such as with outdated infrastructure. 

The Commission points out that the 2023 amendments to the Criminal Code continue to significantly undermine efforts to combat corruption, particularly affecting the prosecution of high-level corruption cases.   

"Challenges remain concerning transparency of media ownership. Despite some progress in strengthening the legal protection for journalists, their working environment has not improved," the report notes. 

It adds that the Government initiated measures to enhance cooperation with civil society, while civil society raised challenges, including online hate speech.

In addition, topics on the agenda of Tuesday's GAC meeting include the rule of law in the EU, the Commission’s work programme for 2026 and preparations for the October European Council.

Ahead of the GAC meeting, the 6th meeting of the Accession Conference with Albania will be held early Tuesday, serving to open negotiations with Albania on Cluster 4 ‘Green agenda and sustainable connectivity’, including Chapters 14 (transport policy), 15 (energy), 21 (trans-European networks), and 27 (environment and climate change). 

Photo: MIA archive