Messages for Rama&Berisha and a McAllister act in Tirana

David McAllister's visit was not a ceremonial episode, but a clear act of political recalibration. The three messages conveyed by the head of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee: political responsibility in the Balluku case, the decline in the perception of corruption and the full harmonization with the EU's foreign policy of the changes to the Criminal Procedure Code are classic forms of conditionality policies. As is known, the EU uses a combination of rewards (opening chapters) with continuous monitoring for candidate countries. So, while the government communicates technical progress, Brussels restores the focus on democratic standards. 

Specifically for Prime Minister Edi Rama, the first message was of an institutional nature, the political protection of a ministerial figure under investigation or under public suspicion tests the boundary between party loyalty and governmental responsibility. In other words, the stability of power is not measured only by the numbers in parliament but also by the ability to produce distance from any risk that undermines its reputation or legitimacy. If the government is perceived as a political shield for MPs or ministers and not a model of transparency, accountability and cooperation with justice institutions, then the cost of integration increases.

Second, the deterioration of corruption indicators, implying a large gap between the rhetoric of digital modernization and tangible results in the fight against corruption. While technological initiatives and new political figures are promoted as symbols of administrative transformation, international indicators paint a colder and more critical picture. According to the 2025 report published by Transparency International for Albania, the country has not only not improved in the perception of corruption, but has fallen 11 places compared to the previous year. This gap between the narrative of digitalization and the real performance in institutional integrity raises questions about the effectiveness of the reforms and their ability to produce sustainable public trust.

Third, the accelerated changes to the Criminal Procedure Code constitute another point of tension between the government and the EU. Legal reform in the context of integration must pass through three filters, consultation, proportionality and coherence with the acquis communautaire. Speed ​​without political consensus creates the perception of instrumentalization of the procedure. In the theory of “rule of law backsliding”, the problem is not only the content, but the manner of approval. The EU observes the process as much as the result.

Last but not least, it was not the statement but the gesture of the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Mr. McAllister, bypassing the chairman of the parliamentary group, Mr. Berisha, in his meeting with several DP deputies. McAllister's meeting with DP deputies, but not with its chairman, is a practice otherwise called in the literature "selective engagement". In international relations, this is used to maintain institutional contact without legitimizing the individual. This gesture reinforced the thesis deliberately forgotten in the DP that Berisha continues to be isolated from the international community. Certainly a significant message for those who put reason to work in the DP and not at all important for those who only act in that party. Protest in this context does not change this reality for the latter, but it continues to keep the former, the democrats who think and understand, away. 

In structural terms, it can be said that we have a situation where both leaders face limits set by international actors. Rama faces the limit of conditionality and institutional reputation; Berisha the limit of international legitimacy. The role of internationals in this case also proves that it is neither supportive nor disruptive, they function as a balancing mechanism in a highly polarized political system. But in our context, their message helps us analyze politics beyond internal rhetoric towards external standards, where political weight is truly measured.

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