Albania’s choice now will signal whether it is converging with that standard or drifting toward a system where, as Orwell warned, all are equal, but some remain more equal than others.
Tirana Times, 09 February 2026 – The European Union has publicly urged the Albanian Parliament to address without delay the request to lift the parliamentary immunity of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, a move that would clear the way for her arrest on serious corruption charges brought by the Special Anti-Corruption Structure, SPAK. The intervention from Brussels elevates the case from a domestic legal dispute to a broader test of Albania’s commitment to the rule of law and its European integration path.
SPAK formally requested the removal of Balluku’s immunity in December, citing grave criminal accusations linked to abuse of office, corruption, and alleged pressure on witnesses in major public procurement cases. Despite the request, the Parliament, dominated by the ruling Socialist Party, has repeatedly delayed consideration of the motion, effectively shielding the deputy prime minister from arrest. Under parliamentary rules, failure to vote on the request within three months would result in its automatic rejection, with the final deadline falling in mid-March.
The stalemate has unfolded alongside a parallel judicial and political confrontation. In December, the Special Court against Organized Crime and Corruption suspended Balluku from office, a decision that was later challenged by Prime Minister Edi Rama before the Constitutional Court. Three days ago, the Constitutional Court reinstated the suspension, reaffirming that the deputy prime minister could not exercise her duties while under investigation. However, the ruling did not address the core issue raised by SPAK: the request for arrest and the need for parliamentary authorization.
As expectations grew that Parliament would finally move to lift Balluku’s immunity, the government reacted by signaling further delay. Prime Minister Rama argued that there was “no urgency” to address SPAK’s request following the Constitutional Court’s decision and announced plans to intervene in legislation governing suspension from office. The ruling majority has suggested amending the Criminal Procedure Code to clarify that suspension should not apply to members of government, a move critics describe as a tailor-made legal shield designed to exhaust procedural deadlines rather than address the substance of the accusations.
The European Commission’s response has been unusually direct. In its public statements and in reference to its 2025 Albania report, the Commission emphasized that Parliament bears the responsibility to promptly examine requests for the removal of immunity and that political interference in judicial and prosecutorial processes remains a serious concern. The Commission reiterated that effective anti-corruption measures are a core condition for Albania’s progress toward EU membership and that the Union closely monitors judicial independence and the rule of law as part of the accession dialogue.
The Balluku case has thus become emblematic of a deeper contradiction within Albania’s justice reform. Over recent years, SPAK has pursued an unprecedented wave of high-level corruption cases, including against former ministers, mayors, senior officials, and powerful businessmen. These prosecutions were repeatedly cited by the government as proof that “no one is above the law.” Yet the refusal to allow the arrest of the deputy prime minister, the second most powerful figure in the executive, has exposed a political red line where accountability appears negotiable.
Opposition figures have described the situation as an open revolt against the justice system, while legal experts warn that blocking SPAK through parliamentary inaction would undermine the very foundations of the reform launched with strong EU and U.S. backing. Parliamentary immunity, they argue, exists to protect political pluralism, not to provide sanctuary from criminal accountability when serious charges are raised by an independent prosecution.
Beyond the fate of one official, the implications are institutional. If Parliament continues to delay or ultimately refuses to lift Balluku’s immunity, Albania risks tearing the fabric of its rule-of-law narrative at a critical moment in its EU accession process. The European Union has made clear that the credibility of Albania’s reform path depends not on rhetoric, but on whether legal institutions are allowed to function when investigations reach the core of executive power.
In this sense, the Balluku affair is no longer simply a corruption case. It has become a decisive test of whether Albania’s Parliament will act as a constitutional bridge between justice and accountability, or as a political barricade. As one European diplomat privately noted, in mature democracies senior officials step aside far earlier to protect institutional integrity. Albania’s choice now will signal whether it is converging with that standard or drifting toward a system where, as Orwell warned, all are equal, but some remain more equal than others.
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