Abstract
Background:
Albania negotiations for the country's EU membership formally began on
19 July 2022. The process will consist, among others, of approximating national legislation
with the EU acquis, which is divided into six thematic clusters. Albania must achieve the
country's legislation full compliance with the EU acquis and its successful implementation.
Negotiations and subsequent membership in the European Union (EU) will support the
democratisation and strengthening of the rule of law in Albania. This research examines the
role of the Albanian Parliament in the EU integration process through the approximation of
national laws. This desk research serves as a cornerstone for further research and academic
studies regarding the Albanian Parliament's involvement in EU integration efforts through
the process of national law approximation. Therefore, to better approximate national
legislation with that of the EU, it is recommended that Parliament increases the trend of
approving laws aimed at approximation.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the legislative activity of the
Albanian Parliament (Parliament hereinafter) between 2018 and 2023 in terms of
approximation of national laws with the EU acquis. The study used a desk review to analyse
the annual number of laws adopted and approximated to EU law. Reliable sources from the
Official Journals of the Republic of Albania (Albania hereinafter) were used to collect data on
laws adopted and approximated during the study period providing an understanding of the
total number of laws adopted and approximated for each year, the relevant EU act, and the
clusters of the negotiation chapters.
Results and Conclusions:
Analysing the role of Parliament in EU integration through the
approximation of national legislation from 2018 to 2023 highlights the multidimensional
nature of the integration process and the important contribution made so far by the legislative
power. During the period covered by the study, Parliament has made important efforts to
approximate national legislation with EU legislation, which is proven by the study results.
Based on the study data, a quantifiable difference was found between the total number of laws
approved and those approximated by Parliament from 2018 to 2023. The study's conclusions
and recommendations provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and
opportunities in approximating Albanian legislation with the EU acquis and advancing the
country's European integration agenda.
Publisher
East-European Law Research Center