every five years on the basis of recommendations by the High Council of Justice, which should allay and address any possible concerns with regard to the access of citizens to the justice system as a result of this reform.

12. While welcoming the marked and tangible progress made, the Assembly urges the authorities to makeall necessary efforts to fully eradicate internal and external interference in the judiciary and to address the stilltoo low clearance rate of cases before the courts.

13. Marked progress has been made with regard to the fight against the still widespread and systemiccorruption in Albania, and the persistent concerns of intertwinement of organised crime with economic andpolitical interests in the country. A Specialised Structure for Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK,comprising of the Special Prosecution Office (SPO), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and twoSpecialised Anti-Corruption and Organised Crime Courts) is now fully operational and starts to produceconcrete results, including with regard to cases of high-level corruption. It is important that these tangibleresults become a non-reversable trend, and that the anti-corruption structures have all the resources theyneed, to send a clear signal at all levels of society that there is no impunity for corrupt behaviour.

14. Emphasising that SPAK was established to investigate and adjudicate high-level cases of corruptionand organised crime, the Assembly considers that the monetary threshold for cases to fall in an obligatorymanner within SPAKs mandate – currently around € 500 – is too low and risks inundating SPAK with casesand therefore limit its capacity to fight high-level corruption. It strongly recommends to the authorities to raisethis monetary threshold.

15. The Assembly takes note of the compliance report by the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO)for Albania in the framework of its fifth evaluation round on preventing corruption and promoting integrity incentral governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies. While welcoming the progressnoted by GRECO, it regrets that only 5 of the 24 recommendations made in GRECO’s evaluation report havebeen satisfactorily addressed, while 13 recommendations have only been implemented partially and 6 not atall. The Assembly urges the authorities to fully implement the recommendations made by GRECO as a matterof priority and in particular to:

15.1. address GRECO’s misgivings about the Ethics Committee set up to oversee the implementation of, and adherence to, the Ministerial Code of Ethics, by removing members of the government from this committee;

15.2. ensure in law and practice that the Prime Minister is accountable to the Ministerial Code of Ethics;

15.3. ensure that all ministries appoint the integrity coordinators tasked with ensuring compliance with the integrity plans developed by each ministry in consultation with the different stakeholders including civil society;

15.4. ensure that regulations adopted to safeguard the transparency of the interactions of the ministers and persons with top executive functions with lobbyists cover all forms of contact, including by electronic means, and not only physical meetings.

16. With regard to the execution of judgments by the European Court of Human Rights (the “Court”), theAssembly welcomes the decision by the Committee of Ministers to close its supervision of the execution of theset of cases in Manushaqe Puto and others v. Albania, indicating a successful resolution of the casesregarding the restitution of properties expropriated by the communist regime that ruled Albania from 1944 to1992, which had been an important concern of the Assembly. Nevertheless, the number of cases againstAlbania before the European Court of Human Rights and under supervision by the Committee of Ministers isstill too high and additional and consistent efforts are needed to ensure prompt execution of the judgments ofthe Court, especially with regard to the execution of domestic court judgments and the excessive length ofproceedings. The Assembly highlights the importance of respecting the protection of property and calls uponthe Albanian authorities to ensure the enforcement of final judicial decisions issued by domestic courts on thismatter thus avoiding the need for new cases to be brought before the Court.

17. The Assembly deeply regrets that, despite the overall progress in honouring its obligations andcommitments, the media environment has continued to deteriorate in Albania. This backsliding is of seriousconcern as a free and pluralist media environment is an essential requirement for a well-functioningdemocracy. The Assembly therefore calls upon the Albanian authorities to:

17.1. refrain from using threats and harsh rhetoric against journalists that affects their physical safety and their capacity to report;

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