The Council of Europe, together with the Commissioner for the Right to Information and Personal Data Protection, organised an event to present the implementing by-laws to Albania’s Law on Lobbying and discuss the next steps towards their effective implementation.

The event brought together representatives of public institutions, civil society organisations, the private sector and other stakeholders, and was addressed by Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption Adea Pirdeni and Swiss Ambassador Siri Walt.

The new by-laws complete the legal framework for lobbying in Albania, a novelty for the country. They establish rules for the future lobbying register, registration procedures, declarations of lobbying activities, verification, conflict-of-interest safeguards, awareness-raising and document retention.

The framework will help public officials and lobbyists understand their responsibilities and enable the public to access relevant information on lobbying activities.

Addressing the event, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana, Giulia Re underlined that the next priority is to ensure that the new framework is applied effectively. This will require awareness-raising, practical guidance and capacity-building for those responsible for applying the rules, as well as the development of a digital lobbying register to support transparency and oversight.

The Council of Europe will continue supporting the Albanian authorities through the project Enhancing public sector resilience against corruption, co-funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.