Government Transparency in Albania and the Role of the European Union

Abstract

The recognition of transparency as an essential element of good governance is very important for new democracies because it leads to greater public support for their governments' economic and political decisions. This has been clearly understood by the countries in the Western Balkans which following the fall of communism entered a path of rapid democratization struggling to be opened and transparent. This paper explores transparency and open government in Albania looking at how the Albanian legal administrative framework and practices guarantee the principle of transparency in decision-making and the role the EU in complying with this principle. It introduces the concept of 'transparency through integration' as a model which encapsulates the transparency developments in Albania and Western Balkans and looks at how transparency can be transformed from a principle of good governance to a legalistic instrument holding a place in the hierarchy of legal norms. This research focuses on how transparency becomes part of a policy paradigm which can transform a country's politics from secretive and authoritarian to transparent and democratic. In addition, it suggests that the EU has a role to play as a transformative power to induce positive reforms and improve transparency in the decision-making in Albania.