Civil Society Calls on Parliament Not to Undermine Transparency, Parliamentary Scrutiny, and Public Consultation in Accelerated Procedures for EU Integration Legislation

Joint Statement by Civil Society Organisations on the Draft Decision to Amend the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Albania 

Tirana, 13 March 2026 

A coalition of 31 civil society organisations, including AIS / Open Data Albania, has issued a joint statement raising concerns about the Draft Decision to Amend the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Albania. The statement focuses on two issues: the design of the proposed accelerated procedure for EU integration legislation, and the absence of transparency and public consultation guarantees within that procedure. 

On the Accelerated Procedure – The draft introduces an automatic fast-track for all legislation related to EU integration. While such a mechanism can be justified given the volume and pace of accession negotiations, the coalition warns that the current design bypasses case-by-case parliamentary scrutiny and sets no minimum timeframe for committee review – creating a risk that acceleration becomes the default rather than the exception. 

On Civil Society Consultation and Transparency – The draft contains no provisions guaranteeing civil society consultation, expert engagement, or public transparency under the accelerated procedure. Leaving consultation to the sole discretion of parliamentary committees falls short of a structured institutional mechanism and reduces the predictability of the legislative process. 

Recommendations – The coalition calls on Parliament to incorporate the following safeguards before adopting the decision: 

• The accelerated procedure must require a reasoned parliamentary decision for each individual draft law, not apply automatically. 
• A minimum committee review period of at least ten working days must be guaranteed even under acceleration. 
• Structured public consultation must be mandated, including publication of draft acts on the e-Parliament platform, with dedicated mechanisms to ensure acceleration does not compromise consultation quality. 
• Full transparency must be ensured through publication of explanatory memoranda and EU acquis concordance tables. 
• The role and capacity of sectoral parliamentary committees in scrutinising EU integration legislation must be guaranteed and strengthened.

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Signatory Organisations:

1. Center Science and Innovation for Development (SCiDEV) 
2. Albanian Women in Audiovisual (AWA) 
3. Partners Albania for Change and Development 
4. Academy of Political Studies (ASP) 
5. Center for the Study of Democracy and Governance (CSDG) 
6. Gender Alliance for Development Centre (GADC) 
7. Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) 
8. Albanian Center for Economic Research (ACER) 
9. Institute for Political Studies (ISP) 
10. LGBTI Anti-Discrimination Alliance 
11. Children’s Rights Centre Albania – CRCA / ECPAT Albania 
12. Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Albania (BIRN Albania) 
13. Association of Journalists of Albania (AJA) 
14. Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) 
15. Faktoje – Center for Fact-Checking in Albania 
16. Erasmus Student Network Tirana (ESN Tirana) 
17. Together Foundation 
18. Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI) 
19. Albanian Institute of Science / Open Data Albania 
20. Active Citizenship and Information Network (ACIN) 
21. Albanian Media Council (AMC) 
22. Center for Comparative and International Studies (CCIS) 
23. Amfora Center 
24. Qëndresa Qytetare (Civic Resistance) 
25. Albanian Center for Quality Journalism (ACQJ) 
26. Together for Life (TFL) 
27. “Strehëza Edlira Haxhiymeri” Center 
28. Women’s Network Equality in Decision Making   
29. Center for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development – All Green Centre 
30. European Movement in Albania (EMA) 
31. AWEN-Albanian Women Empowerment Network