On October 16, the European Commission announced the first disbursement of €99.3 million to Albania under the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. The Commission’s assessment, presented in the document Assessment of the Conditions for Payment – Albania, concluded that the country met the general preconditions on macroeconomic stability, fiscal transparency, and public-financial management. However, the chapter on fundamental rights, particularly media freedom and freedom of expression, remained among the weakest areas of reform.

Under Section 5.6.1 “Enhance freedom of expression, in line with European standards,” the Commission evaluated three reform measures. Only one was achieved, while the two core elements related to journalists’ safety and media-ownership transparency were not. This imbalance illustrates the persistent gap between formal legislative compliance and practical implementation.

The Commission recognized that Albania had adopted the State Police Protocol for the Safety of Journalists (May 2025) and a Prosecutor’s Circular on Investigating Attacks Against Journalists (October 2024). SCiDEV’s ongoing engagement with law enforcement on the safety of journalists shows that progress is possible when institutions act transparently and in partnership with media and civil society. Yet these measures were assessed as largely declarative as of June 2025. As per the assessment of the EU, the authorities failed to demonstrate systematic training for police and prosecutors, consistent data collection, or functional coordination between law enforcement and the judiciary. No focal points were designated in the courts, and there was no proof that prosecutors applied the new instruments to ensure accountability for attacks. Albania’s normative progress was therefore not matched by institutional capacity, and the benchmark was rated “not achieved,” with a grace period until June 2026.

As SCiDEV and the SafeJournalists Network have emphasized, such commitments must be institutionalized, not left to ad-hoc implementation. Albania should strengthen capacities within law enforcement and the judiciary and establish a fast-track, rapid-response mechanism coordinated among the prosecution offices, police, the Ministry of Justice, the People’s Advocate, media associations, civil society, and other relevant institutions. This would enable timely and consistent reactions to threats and attacks against journalists, turning declarative measures into a system of effective protection.

The only benchmark fully achieved under this chapter was the Policy Impact Assessment and Legal Gap Analysis (PIA/LGA) on the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). The analysis, prepared by an inter-institutional working group, mapped the legislative changes required to align Albania’s framework on electronic commerce, copyright, audiovisual media, and electronic communications with the DSA. The Commission considered it technically robust and a credible foundation for future alignment, though it noted limited stakeholder participation. However, the analysis has not been published, and the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) is reportedly pursuing DSA-related work in parallel, creating uncertainty about institutional coordination. The government should therefore publish the PIA/LGA in full and clarify consultation and follow-up procedures, enabling media organizations, professional associations, and civil-society actors to engage meaningfully in shaping Albania’s approach to DSA implementation. This call for transparency and inclusiveness is echoed in SCiDEV’s analysis on Albania’s path to DSA alignment, which stresses that compliance must also reinforce public trust, protect freedom of expression, and ensure the accountability of both digital platforms and state institutions. Drawing on SCiDEV’s broader work on digital governance and AI policy, the implementation of the Digital Services Act should be viewed as an opportunity to strengthen transparency and accountability of online platforms, enhance user protection, and align national approaches with European democratic standards. Without a clear, participatory roadmap, digital regulation risks replicating existing governance weaknesses rather than resolving them.

The reform step on media-ownership transparency, a long-standing EU priority for pluralism, was again assessed as “not achieved.” Although Decision No. 40 (26 April 2024) introduced new disclosure obligations for audiovisual broadcasters and required the AMA to publish ownership data twice yearly, the measure fell short of European standards according to EC assessment. It did not ensure full beneficial-ownership transparency, cross-sectoral disclosure, or enforcement evidence. The Commission concluded that the regulation improved visibility but not genuine transparency, granting a grace period until December 2026. SCiDEV’s recent monitoring of the media freedom regulatory initiatives, published with BIRN Albania, has shown the growing complexity of media oversight in the digital era. The Commission’s assessment that Albania’s transparency rules remain incomplete echoes SCiDEV’s findings on the need for clear standards, proactive disclosure of ownership, conflict of interests, and finances, and stronger independence of regulatory institutions.

The Commission’s findings reveal a pattern of formal compliance without substantive transformation in terms of the measures for freedom of expression with the National Reform Agenda. Albania continues to adopt laws and protocols, yet implementation lags behind. As SCiDEV and the SafeJournalists Network have repeatedly cautioned, the rapid pace of reforms accelerated by EU accession pressure—risks becoming procedural rather than transformative, unless deeper structural change is achieved. The Commission itself reaffirmed that “further significant reforms are needed regarding the independence and pluralism of media and freedom of expression,” describing these as “one of the cornerstones of the interim benchmarks for Cluster 1 negotiations.”

Through its continuous engagement in the EU accession dialogue, SCiDEV has consistently underlined that sustainable progress on media freedom and digital governance depends on genuine political will, institutional capacity, and evidence-based policymaking supported by civic engagement and oversight. The European Commission’s October 2025 assessment under the EU Growth Plan highlights a persistent paradox: while Albania’s macroeconomic discipline has secured EU funding, its democratic and media-freedom performance remains weak. The grace periods extending into 2026 represent a critical test of the country’s readiness to deliver — from operational journalist-safety mechanisms and transparent media-ownership records to inclusive Digital Services Act (DSA) governance. As SCiDEV’s work with national institutions demonstrates, lasting reform requires moving beyond legislative formality toward institutional enforcement, accountability, and public trust. Linking financial assistance to measurable progress offers an opportunity to turn this moment into a genuine step forward for freedom of expression and democratic resilience.