The Albanian Parliament’s adoption of the law on the property issue (Law on the Finalization of Transitional Ownership Processes) is a missed opportunity for resolving in a definitive and just way a problem that has been plaguing Albanian citizens, including members of the Greek National Minority.
The Albanian authorities chose to come up with a “solution” without taking into account basic values and rights. They opted for a piecemeal implementation of the Venice Commission’s Opinion of 14 October 2019, according to which the provisions of the draft law lacked clarity and precision and there was a high risk that their implementation would lead to infringements of the European Convention on Human Rights, including of the right to property.
In spite of certain improvements made at the last moment, the key problems remain in the law passed.
We expect the Albanian authorities to effectively protect the right to ownership and property, which lies at the hard core of European Law.
The enshrinement of this right will be a litmus test ahead of decisions to be made on the drawing up of the negotiating framework and the convening of the 1st Intergovernmental Conference for opening accession negotiations with Albania.
March 9, 2020