“...Since my studies, I have had a particular interest in engaging in the field of the fight against corruption. I see it as a major challenge for our country and, above all, as an urgent issue, especially in the context of Albania’s integration path into the European Union. Personally, I aim to specialise in the field of anti-corruption, and such courses are of great interest and help in my professional development...”, this is how Xhulia Mulla, one of young public officials in the Directorate of Analysis, Control and Administrative Investigation (General Directorate of Anti-Corruption) starts describing her journey to be in the forefront of the fight against corruption. She is one of 80  professionals from Albania who attended last year the Council of Europe HELP Course on “Introduction to corruption prevention”.

The Course was developed by Council of Europe Economic Crime and Co-operation Division in co-operation with the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals Programme in 2021 and further adapted in Albanian in 2024 with the support of EU and Council of Europe. It is composed by 13 modules, covering a wide array of topics including ethical behavior, conflicts of interest, regulating management of gifts, aims of asset declarations systems, role of free access to information in corruption prevention and many more.  Xhulia, in her daily work, besides administrative investigations, is also monitoring the risk assessment on corruption, a process that specifically aims to address the main issues and gaps that contribute to corruption. Attending this course helped her to see in more detail various aspects of each topic covered. “...Different examples of ethical or integrity dilemmas have helped me view a given situation from different perspectives and gain greater clarity on whether I am facing a violation of ethics or integrity...” she explains while sitting in her office where numerous files in her shelf are waiting to be processed. According to her, such capacity building initiatives are essential, let it be for the personal professional development of the staff, but also in the process of advancing the fight against corruption in Albania, in line with European standards and values. In this context, one the most important functions of the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption (DPAK) is conducting administrative investigations in all public institutions within its oversight scope. This includes both central-level institutions and regional directorates where control and administrative investigation activities are carried out. Official statistics show that during the four-year period from 2021 to 2024, the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption proposed 540 administrative measures, issued 279 recommendations, and referred 48 criminal reports to the competent prosecution office.

The Action against Economic Crime – a joint initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe, since January 2024 is working closely with the State Minister for Public Administration and Anti-corruption, to support the efforts and address key challenges to prevent and combat economic crime, including corruption, money laundering and organised crime. This assistance is multidimensional, focusing in strengthening of legislation and regulatory frameworks, providing institutional capacity building, while enhancing inter-agency co-operation. The Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, Adea Pirdeni during the launch of the Course highlighted its unique importance in contributing to the fulfilment of one of GRECO’s recommendations and aligning it with the Albanian Government’s priority for a professional public administration with high integrity. “Let us see this course as one element of the greater picture, being our joint initiative to ameliorate the standards and culture of work in the public administration,” underlined Minister Pirdeni. Although originally intended for increasing the capacities of a smaller target group such as of political advisers, within a year, this self-learning course has been transformed into a sustainable training tool for all public administration.

Jasminka Peruničić Allen, who is leading the Council of Europe project “HELP in the Western Balkans”, shares that the course have proven to be very useful and successful in Albania, but also in Armenia and besides English, Albanian and Armenian it is also translated in Arabic, French, Russian, Ukrainian and Uzbek and to be further adapted in other languages. It directly helps public officials as it brings clarity to the approach taken by the Council of Europe with respect to corruption, as contained in the standards set by the Council of Europe conventions, resolutions and other instruments.  

This course also contributes in addressing one of the recommendations of GRECO (Group of States against Corruption, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption monitoring body) stating the need to enhance training on integrity, including specialised corruption investigations, and establishing a confidential counseling system with trained advisors for ethical support. This approach has also been enshrined in the Inter-sectorial Strategy against Corruption 2024-2030. Its first pillar on “Prevention of Corruption, focuses on consolidating and developing instruments and anti-corruption mechanisms, promoting integrity, transparency and ethics at all levels of government, both in central and local level.

In conclusion, the collaboration between the European Union/ Council of Europe joint Action against Economic Crime and the Albanian institutions, has significantly contributed to the fight against corruption in Albania. Initiatives like the HELP Course on Anti-Corruption have proven invaluable, not only for enhancing the skills and knowledge of young professionals like Xhulia, but also for fostering a culture of integrity within the public administration.