Albania and the European Union: The Tumultuous Journey Towards Integration and Accession

289 Pages·2007·0.82 MB·English

by  Mirela Bogdani

AAllbbaanniiaa aanndd tthhee EEuurrooppeeaann UUnniioonn

AAllbbaanniiaa aanndd tthhee EEuurrooppeeaann UUnniioonn
TThhee TTuummuullttuuoouuss JJoouurrnneeyy
ttoowwaarrddssIInntteeggrraattiioonn aanndd AAcccceessssiioonn
MIRELA BOGDANI
and
JOHN LOUGHLIN
Published in 2007 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
www.ibtauris.com
In the United States of America and Canada distributed by Palgrave Macmillan a
division of St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
Copyright © Mirela Bogdani and John Loughlin
The right of Mirela Bogdani and John Loughlin to be identified as the authors of
this work has been asserted by the authors in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patent Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part
thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Library of European Studies 4
ISBN: 978 1 84511 308 7
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
From camera-ready copy edited and supplied by the authors
CCOONNTTEENNTTSS
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgements xi
Acronyms xii
11.. EEuurrooppeeaann iinntteeggrraattiioonn aanndd tthhee ttrraannssffoorrmmaattiioonn ooff tthhee ddeemmooccrraattiicc
ssttaattee:: TThheeoorreettiiccaall aanndd ccoonntteexxttuuaall iissssuueess 1
1.1. The nation-state and the development of the European Union 1
1.2. Theories of European integration 14
1.3. The Europeanization approach: theoretical issues 19
22.. AAllbbaanniiaa iinn 11999900:: AAtt tthhee ccrroossssrrooaaddss bbeettwweeeenn ccoommmmuunniissmm aanndd
ddeemmooccrraaccyy 21
2.1. The democratic movement for the overthrow of communism 21
2.2. Political, historical, economic and cultural legacies of the past:
the Ottoman and communist legacies 22
2.3. To what extent is Albania 'European'? 31
33.. TThhee ttrraannssiittiioonn ppeerriioodd:: PPoolliittiiccaall aanndd ssoocciioo--eeccoonnoommiicc ssiittuuaattiioonn ooff
AAllbbaanniiaa.. HHooww ffaarr iiss AAllbbaanniiaa ffrroomm mmeeeettiinngg tthhee CCooppeennhhaaggeenn ccrriitteerriiaa?? 36
3.1. Democratic transformation in Albania 36
3.2. Political situation 40
Elections 40
Public administration 47
The rule of law 49
Judicial system 51
Human and Minority Rights. The Cham issue 53
Media 55
Approximation of domestic legislation to EU Laws 57
3.3. Economic situation 60
Post-communist economic transformations 60
Economic indicators and the situation in specific sectors 61
Other market-related areas 71
vi Albania and the European Union
3.4. Social situation 73
From egalitarianism to polarization and 'jungle capitalism' 73
The situation in specific areas 76
Demographic situation 79
Environmental situation 79
3.5. Religious situation 80
3.6. Advantages of Albania as an independent nation-state 84
3.7. How far is Albania from meeting the criteria? 85
44.. EEUU mmeemmbbeerrsshhiipp pprroossppeeccttiivvee ffoorr tthhee ccoouunnttrriieess ooff WWeesstteerrnn BBaallkkaannss
aanndd AAllbbaanniiaa 87
4.1. The EU's eastern enlargements: the Western Balkans and the
completion of the EU map 87
4.2. The importance of European accession and integration for the
Western Balkans and Albania 92
4.3. The future of the Kosovo issue 96
4.4. The Balkans back into the European mainstream? 100
4.5. The Accession Process and EU membership criteria
(Copenhagen criteria) 102
4.6. The principle of conditionality, the Stability Pact for South-
Eastern Europe and the Thessalonica Summit 107
4.7. Western Balkans - passengers on the same train 111
4.8. History of Albanian's European integration efforts: on the way
towards the EU destination 115
4.9. The other priority: Membership in NATO 119
4.10. The future of Western Balkans and Albania lies with the EU 120
55.. TThhee ppoolliittiiccaall ssyysstteemm:: AAllbbaanniiaann ppoolliittiiccaall ppaarrttiieess aanndd tthheeiirr aattttiittuuddee
ttoowwaarrddss tthhee EEUU 122
5.1. The political structure 122
5.2. Political situation from 1992-97: The 'reign and fall' of the
Democratic Party 123
A good beginning which turned into a new 'dictatorship' 123
The failure of the Constitution and the farce of the 1996 elections 126
Pyramid schemes and the following popular uprising 127
5.3. Political situation after 1997 129
Socialists back in power 129
Commitment to restore the country and restart the reforms 130
Another eight years of governance failure 131
Contents vii
5.4. Polarization of the political system 132
5.5. The opposition 133
5.6. Small parties 134
5.7. Party coalitions 136
5.8. Partitocrazia 137
5.9. Internal party democracy 138
5.10. Ideological/political identity 141
5.11. Funding of parties 144
5.12. Organizational structure 145
5.13. The rhetoric of EU membership 146
66.. CClliieenntteelliissmm,, ccoorrrruuppttiioonn aanndd oorrggaanniizzeedd ccrriimmee:: SSeerriioouuss bbaarrrriieerrss ttoo
EEUU mmeemmbbeerrsshhiipp 148
6.1. The 'importing' of illegal activities from the Balkans -
a challenge for the EU 148
6.2. Clientelism 149
6.3. Corruption and bribery 151
6.4. Organized crime 155
6.5. Connections between the mafia and politics 160
77.. PPoolliiccyy mmaakkiinngg iinn AAllbbaanniiaa 163
7.1. Components of policy-making 163
7.2. What type of policy-making has Albania? 166
88.. TThhee rroollee ooff tthhee eelliittee aanndd tthhee ddoommeessttiicc aaccttoorrss 170
8.1 The elite and middle class under communism 170
8.2. The birth of the new elite 172
8.3. The domestic actors 173
The political elite and state actors 173
a. The role of political leaders 174
b. Government 177
c. Parliament 179
d. President 181
The bureaucratic elite (Civil servants) 182
The knowledge elite 183
a. The 'Brain drain' 184
Civil society 187
The media elite 189
The masses and public opinion 190
a. The politics of domestic collective identity - Italian case 193
viii Albania and the European Union
99.. LLooccaall ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt aanndd ddeecceennttrraalliizzaattiioonn 195
9.1. Territorial governance under communism 195
9.2. The current Albanian system of local government 197
9.3. The functions of Albanian local government 199
The communes and municipalities 199
Functions of the regions 200
Local finances 201
9.4. The functioning of local government 202
9.5. Future challenges 206
1100.. EEUU eeccoonnoommiicc aaiidd,, aassssiissttaannccee aanndd pprrooggrraammmmeess:: HHooww hhaavvee tthheeyy
ccoonnttrriibbuutteedd ttoo ddoommeessttiicc rreeffoorrmmss aanndd ddeevveellooppmmeenntt?? 209
10.1. EU aid and assistance in various areas in the past and in the
present 209
10.2. Evolution of EU assistance to Albania and its complementarity
with other donors 213
10.3. The CARDS programme 215
10.4. The future instruments of EU financial assistance 217
1111.. TThhee iimmppaacctt ooff eexxtteerrnnaall ffaaccttoorrss oonn AAllbbaanniiaann ppoolliittiiccss aanndd ppoolliicciieess 219
11.1. The impact of the EU and Europeanization 220
11.2. Globalization 221
11.3. The influence of the CEE countries 223
11.4. The role of the International Community in Albania 224
11.5. Regional cooperation and Albania's attitude to geo-politics and
the war against terrorism 226
11.6. 'Greater Albania' in the light of the future accession of Albania
and Kosovo into the EU 229
11.7. The Albanian diaspora and its role in domestic politics. 233
11.8. When will Albania join the EU? 236
Conclusions 239
Endnotes 249
Bibliography 259
Index 269
LLIISSTT OOFF TTAABBLLEESS
1. The 35 negotiation chapters of the acquis communautaire 59
2. The process of accession of the Western Balkan countries 114