DECENTRALIZATION PROCESS AND FINANCIAL AUTONOMY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS IN ALBANIA

The purpose of this paper is to give a general overview on the decentralization process and on the financial autonomy of local government units in Albania. The principal base for the analysis done is the legal framework, accompanied shortly with examples of its implementation in several communes or municipalities. The paper is organised in 3 issues, which treat respectively the organization of local government in Albania, decentralization of functions and responsibilities in favour of the units of local government, and their budget and resources of financing. There has been some difficulties in practice during decentralization process raised out when fulfilling the whole legal framework on exercising exclusive and shared competences of local units of government, because of the dependence by the respective institutions for the implementation of legal acts for exclusive and shared functions in the fields of education, economic support and health care, and by lack of funds of the responsible ministry to transfer the service of water supply. In Albania seems yet early to give right importance to regions, and especially with regard to the aspirations for European integration many challenges raise to the Albanian institutions

Impact of Constitutional Changes 2008: Is Albania Ready for a New Constitutional Reform?

The constitution is considered as the fundamental act of the state and generally, the mechanisms that allow its revision are well thought out by the legislatorthese interventionsto be effective and at the right moment.The constitutional amendments of 2008 to 11 articles of the highest act of the state indicated that political interests were placed opposite the lack of transparency and lack of public information, being excluded from decision-making. The question arises now is: Does the constitutional changes brought in April 2008, the expected effect or were motivated by the interests of the political class to avoid difficulties in the process of electing the President? The purpose of this paper is the analysis of the effect of these changes and the proposal for a constitutional reform in several basic institutions of the state and society. Currently, although we can conclude that it is still early, we can objectively assess the impact and consequences that led to constitutional system and social changes. In this context, it is necessary to become a proper analysis and a thorough study before discussing about another constitutional reform. The recent past should serve as a reference point to understand that we should show prudence before you reproduce the amendments to the Constitution. Keywords: constitutional reform, transparency, Constitution, mechanisms, impac

The EU Rule of Law initiative towards the Western Balkans

The EU adopted a new enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans countries in 2018, provided a time frame for Serbia and Montenegro potentially to join the Union by 2025, and outlined the next steps for accession for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. In March 2020, the EU gave the green light to the opening of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, and also introduced a new reformed ‘accession talks’ framework. The strengthening of the rule of law, fighting corruption and organised crime are the cornerstones of the EU-Western Balkans strategy of 2018 and the new accession talks framework of 2020. This article examines the latest enlargement policy developments in 2018–2020 by conceptualising how the EU promotes the rule of law in the Western Balkans thorough its new enlargement policy package. Furthermore, the article offers an in-depth analysis of the case of Albania, where the EU has experimented with some of its latest enlargement-policy ideas in regard to the rule of law. The article also offers some proposals and insights on how the EU rule of law initiative of 2018 can be improved, in order to become more transformative in strengthening the rule of law in countries of the Western Balkans

Regulation and supervision of microfinance in Albania

This paper describes important regulation issues that concern microfinance. It starts by considering literature on how and why to regulate and supervise microfinance. Considering the specific case of microfinance in Albania, it analyzes the context of this industry and some particular issues that might influence its growth. Related regulation in Albania seems to be not activity–oriented since a real definition of microfinance is lacking in the Albanian law. Therefore, Albanian microfinance sector needs, first of all, a microcredit and microfinance definition to implement the right development policies and avoid confusion and license misuse. Moreover, the regulatory framework seems to be too restrictive for institutions supposed to be engaged in microfinance example high capital requirement and provisioning. Possible interventions can be in lowering minimum capital requirements for NBFIs to improve entrance, simplifying procedures, documentation and harmonization of the taxation treatment of institutions to enhance development, encourage access and avoid market distortions. There is the need to implement regulation considering microfinance as an activity, and develop a regulatory framework to induce commercial banks integrate downward into the microfinance market and help informal start-ups institutions develop and get formalized

The CJEU Validates in C-156/21 and C-157/21 the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation Regime to Protect the EU Budget

This contribution aims to introduce the reader to a judgment from the Court of Justice of the European Union on the rule of law conditionality regulation in the two cases of Hungary v Parliament and Council (C-156/21) and Poland v Parliament and Council (C-157/21). The judgment expands our understanding of the legality and application of the regime of conditionality for the protection of the European Union budget provided by the Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2092. On the other hand, the Court of Justice of the European Union in C-156/21 and in C-157/21 has now defined how the European Union can legally cut funds to Member States in the case of an established violation of the rule of law, if this violation endangers the EU budget. Despite having a new tool to sanction violations of the rule of law by its Member States, the European Union still lacks the political will to do so. This contribution discusses the importance of the rule of law conditionality regulation in C-156/21 and C-157/21, and what it means to not only to uphold the rule of law, but also fight against corruption in areas associated with Union’s budget and financial interests

Albania’s election: a country in need of a new political narrative as it aims to open EU accession talks

Albania will hold a parliamentary election on 25 June. The election was originally scheduled for 18 June, but was pushed back seven days following a prolonged political crisis. Andi Hoxhaj previews the vote, highlighting that while the country has made substantial improvements with respect to socio-economic reforms, its lack of political stability has held back attempts to pursue closer integration with the EU. The election will be a key moment in demonstrating to the EU that Albania has the potential to open accession talk

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORKS ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE - A TEACHER/STUDENT APPROACH

People have always looked for novel ways to communicate with one another throughout human history. Humans once drew pictures to communicate their ideas; later, they began to utilize symbols and letters. Humans have utilized a variety of methods to communicate through speech and body language. In the past, individuals would transmit official or informal letters using special messengers; on other instances, notably during times of conflict, people would convey messages using birds. As time went on, industrial development produced a number of innovations, including the telephone, which was later superseded by computers, tablets, and cell phones.Regardless of the tools people employed, the necessity for communication persisted. As computer technology has advanced greatly in recent years, people have begun to use various platforms known as social networks.Keywords: Language, teacher, student, social networks, classroom

Stabilising the Western Balkans through a Common Market: Opportunities and Challenges

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022, caused a major shift in global geopolitics. The invasion has brought back war at European soil and posed a challenge to the European Union as the key regional organisation. It has led to a rethinking of the Union’s role in its neighbourhood and on a global level. In these circumstances, the European Union (EU) was quick to respond in a unison manner in sanctioning Russia and expressing and delivering its support to Ukraine, thus overcoming internal disagreements between its Member States. It has also made a significant shift in its external and enlargement policy of the last three decades by responding positively to the membership applications of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia filed immediately after the invasion. The war has also put into the limelight the need for rethinking the Union’s own immediate weaknesses such as its engagement with the Western Balkans in the last two decades. The six states in the Southeastern corners of Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia), which are not members of the Union, have become a symbol of the EU’s never-ending accession policy. Progress towards membership in these countries has been by all standards slow and plagued by disputes and conflicts, within the region and with the neighbouring EU Member States. Partly due to this stagnation, over time, the region has become more vulnerable to external influences, including that of Russia (and other actors such as China, the Gulf countries, and Turkey). Whereas this vulnerability has been tolerated for a long time by the Union, in part due to its own divisions, the invasion has created a time pressure to deal with it, as has been pointed out by several authors in this symposium