TIRANA, Jan. 17 – Albania has again ranked this year among the “partly free” countries in a Freedom House report on freedom in the world, with the same number of points as last year.
In a rating system where countries that score seven are not free, while those that score one have the highest level of freedom, the general level of freedom and the categories of political rights and civil freedom in Albania is three.
Freedom House says the withdrawal of the US from actively engaging in supporting democracy around the world has had global consequences.
Marc Behrendt, who runs the Eurasia program at Freedom House, says the lack of American engagement has consequences because the United States has historically been a model of democracy and has played a positive role.
“The decrease of freedom levels in the U.S. on the one hand and our simultaneous withdrawal from active engagement and promotion of human rights and democracy, that we have in the past forcibly done, will have an impact on the Balkans and the world,” Behrendt said.
In 2017, Albania again was in the group of countries with partial freedom.
Analyst Janusz Bugajski says polarization in Albanian politics is not positive for policy development, reforms, progress towards the European Union.
“It seems to me that every time a party is in opposition, it does not want the ruling party to succeed because there will come a day that Albania, if all goes well, will enter the European Union. Unfortunately, this is where party interests come before national interests,” Bugajski told the Voice of America.
Bugajski also expressed his concern about the lack of will to compromise. He said it seems that the steps the government is taking seem compatible with what the international community has called for as conditions for integration and EU membership and in that sense says some of the opposition’s accusations seem unfair.
“I’m not saying that were the Socialists in opposition they wouldn’t do the same thing and I think that’s the problem with Albanian politics,” he added.
The analyst concluded that progress towards integration depends on the justice reform progress, without which he says Albania will stay in place. He also said opposition protests at this moment would hurt Albania’s image on the international arena.
In its annual reports, Freedom House lists among the problems that prevent Albania from being classified as a completely free country political polarization, crime and corruption, and business ties between politics and the media.
