To mark the 30th anniversary of the accession of the Republic of Albania to the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission and the Parliament of Albania organised an international conference entitled “30 Years of Partnership and Progress: Albania, the Council of Europe, and the Venice Commission”. The conference took place in Tirana, Albania, on 20-21 October 2025 and gathered senior representatives from various Albanian state institutions, in particular Mr Nico Peleshi, Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Edi Rama, Prime Minister, Ms Holta Zaçaj, Chairwoman of the Constitutional Court, and Mr Besfort Lamallari, Minister of Justice. The Venice Commission was represented by its President Emeritus and Special Representative, Mr Gianni Buquicchio, its Honorary President Ms Hanna Suchocka, its Director Ms Simona Granata-Menghini as well as by experts from Bulgaria, Estonia and Kosovo.
The participants of the conference worked in three different panels, respectively: justice reform-the vetting process, electoral reform and constitutional justice. The conference allowed to take stock of the progress achieved by the Republic of Albania on the reform path and the way the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission have contributed to the improvement of the constitutional and legal frameworks of the country.
