“If you touch the justice system, you compromise your chances of joining the European Union,” was the blunt message of Ambassador Gonzato.
The European Union Ambassador to Tirana, Silvio Gonzato, has issued a clear warning to Albanian politics regarding possible interference in the justice system. In an interview for the “Top Story” show on Top Channell television, he stressed that any attempt to change the architecture of the justice reform would directly affect Albania’s path towards the EU. “If you touch the justice system, you compromise your chances of joining the European Union,” was Ambassador Gonzato’s blunt message.
Asked if he had seen concrete threats from Parliament to politically intervene in the justice structures, Gonzato replied that “not really”, but felt the need to clarify some issues that have raised public debate. “Some think that some aspects of the judiciary are not functioning well. Of course, the 2016 reform was great and now, in 2025, maybe it is time to see how some of its elements are functioning. But the foundations, the architecture, the structure of governance cannot be touched, because the independence of the judiciary from the executive and the legislature must be respected. Otherwise, we lose the greatest achievement that Albania has made”, he stressed.
Following the interview, he was asked whether Parliament would have the right to change or abolish one of the new reform institutions, such as the Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime (SCOC). “Parliament is the expression of the people of Albania, so it can change laws or even the Constitution,” the ambassador said. “But the message from Brussels is clear: if you do this, you compromise your chances for membership, because the justice reform with all its architecture has been put in place and this is an absolute requirement.”
This reaction comes at a time when debates on the review of several justice reform mechanisms, one of the EU’s main conditions for opening negotiation chapters, have returned to the Albanian political scene.
