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Reuters: Rama threatens judiciary not to investigate government corruption, EU reminds…
2026-02-16 18:19:02 / POLITIKË
Prime Minister Edi Rama has been targeted by international media. This time, Rama has received strong criticism regarding the initiative that the Socialist Party seeks to undertake through legal changes to prevent the SPAK judiciary from dismissing ministers from his cabinet.
In an article published this Monday, Reuters writes that the Rama government will change the law to protect ministers from suspension while they are under criminal investigation, in an attempt to protect itself, undermining the condition and judicial independence.
Meanwhile, Reuters emphasizes, among other things, that as Albania aims to join the European Union by 2030, the bloc says the country must do more to fight crime and corruption.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama said his government will change the law to protect ministers from suspension while they are under criminal investigation, prompting the opposition to accuse him of trying to protect himself and undermine judicial independence.
A court suspended Rama's deputy, Belinda Balluku, in November after charges were filed against her by Albania's anti-corruption prosecutors, known as SPAK, for alleged interference in a tender for infrastructure projects, which she denies.
The case has caused a dispute between SPAK, which has asked parliament to lift Balluk's immunity to allow her arrest, and Rama, who has complained about exceeding judicial powers, particularly with detentions.
Albania aims to join the European Union by 2030, but the bloc says the country must do more to fight crime and corruption.
Rama's Socialist Party, which secured a fourth consecutive mandate last year, has a sizeable parliamentary majority and it is unclear if and when the assembly will lift the immunity of Balluk, who also served as infrastructure minister and is a close ally of the prime minister.
"The moment a minister is dismissed, it is not just a person dismissed, but the entire work of that institution," Rama told his party's lawmakers on Monday, announcing the plan to change the law.
The opposition has staged a series of protests in recent months in the capital Tirana, demanding Balluk's resignation. On Monday, they said that with the changes, Rama was seeking to control judicial proceedings in his favor.
“This is nothing more than an attempt by Rama to protect himself, by blowing up both the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers... because behind Balluk and her misdeeds stands Rama,” the Democratic Party, the main opposition, said in a statement to Reuters.
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