Press release of the State Minister for Local Affairs Bledi Çuçi:

Today Albania received very good news, which we have the pleasure to share with you all.

Today, Transparency International made public the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2015, and gave Albania a reason to feel better about itself. According to this prestigious assessment, Albania has marked the highest scores in the history since Transparency International began measuring this perception, and has earned 22 positions in just one year – from 110 it was in 2014 to 88 in 2015 – as an improved public perception of corruption.

This result does not mean that we have reached all the targets in the fight against corruption, but it shows clearly that we are in the right direction to overcome the power of inherited corruption and to win, along with every Albanian citizen the war to liberate our society from this nightmare that impedes development and undermines democracy.

This positive result in the Index of Corruption Perception reaffirms the will, determination and seriousness of the government in the fight against corruption, and our will, determination and seriousness will continue to translate into the deepening of the reforms we have embarked in, as well as in new reforms in order to build a state that takes back corruption and makes it shrank.

I would like to emphasize once again that this progress in the Corruption Perception Index is one of the best results and the most significant achievements over the years. This result speaks unlike the accusations and slanders of the anti-state propaganda.

This result is a consequence of our efforts to modernize the state and to build systems that prevent corruption from taking the place of the state serving its citizens.

The reforms have been and remain the appropriate therapy against the cancer of corruption that undermined the state, the economy and services during the years of the previous government. Public-private partnership for the good of the citizens is one of the keys to open doors to quality and corruption-free services to them.

This positive result in the Corruption Perception Index motivates us to feel confident about our achievements, but also responsive to the challenges ahead. One of the biggest challenges we have still ahead is the fundamental reform of the justice system and the embodiment of this historic reform.

Another index was made public today. It is the 2015 Democracy Index 2015, published by “The Economist Intelligence Unit”.

Although it is still ranked among the countries with hybrid democracy, Albania is mentioned in this index as one of the countries that have made progress in 2015, achieving the highest scoring since 2008.

The report states that “Albania has made some progress in 2015 primarily related to the fight against corruption and the fight against organized crime. And, I quote the report, “Progress is being held back by political wrangling between the government and the main opposition party.”

To conclude, I would invite everybody to set aside prejudices and read carefully these reports which clearly confirm the lack of progress in reforming the justice system, looking at this fact as one of the top concerns Albania has today, and making it the biggest challenge for 2016.

Thank you!