“Transparency Agora in the Time of Integration” – Transparency, a condition for good governance and European integration
At the conclusion of Integrity Week 2025, the 7th National Conference on the Right to Information was held today, on the topic “Transparency Agora in the Time of Integration”, organized by the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, in cooperation with the Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption.
The conference served as a national platform for dialogue on the challenges of institutional transparency within the framework of the European integration process, emphasizing the supervisory role of the Commissioner, the responsibility of public institutions and the strengthening of accountability towards citizens.
The event was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, H.E. Edi Rama, representatives of the diplomatic corps, central and local institutions, independent authorities, the justice system, civil society and the media.
Prime Minister Rama emphasized that Albania has built a functional infrastructure for transparency, improving capacities for access to information and promoting new projects such as “Transparent Albania”.
He added that SIGMA assessments show that Albania has a functional infrastructure for transparency and that the Transparent Albania project aims to centralize all information on a single platform, where citizens can request information without bureaucratic delays.
During his speech, the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, Mr. Besnik Dervishi, emphasized that transparency constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of good governance and is an essential element for building trust between institutions and the public.
He emphasized that transparency should not be understood simply as the publication of documents, but as a work culture, which promotes integrity, responsiveness and accountability in every link of public administration.
Referring to the European Commission’s 2025 Report, Commissioner Dervishi noted that the Law “On the Right to Information” in Albania is broadly in line with European standards, but its practical implementation remains inconsistent, with public authorities continuing, in many cases, to use general and unfounded justifications related to “public interest” to refuse requests for information, without respecting the principle of proportionality and without providing sufficient legal justification.
Commissioner Dervishi highlighted as the main problems the failure to respect legal deadlines for responding, the misinterpretation of legal restrictions, but often also due to negligence.
He also highlighted unnecessary confidentiality provisions, frequent changes of information coordinators and shortcomings in the organization of internal institutional structures for publishing updated information on official websites.
In conclusion, Commissioner Besnik Dervishi emphasized that the proper implementation of the law on the right to information requires joint commitment from public institutions, civil society, media, academia, etc.
The Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, Adea Pirdeni, stated that the government is coming with more public transparency, through the transparency portal.
Representatives of the diplomatic corps emphasized the importance of strengthening the transparency and accountability of public institutions, while reconfirming their support for Albania in the integration process as well as in various projects.
Representatives of the media and civil society highlighted the problems and challenges related to access to information.
During the conference, the new Transparency Program Models, drafted by the Commissioner’s Office for central, subordinate institutions and local self-government units, were presented, as well as the findings of the annual self-declaration report for 2024.
The Question-Answer Manual for citizens was also presented, as a practical instrument for increasing access to information and raising awareness about the right to information.
