Is Albania’s EU dream hitting a wall? The Erion Veliaj case and the rise of "Muscular Prosecution"
Let's be real: we all want to see the Balkans join the EU. But the current situation in Albania is raising red flags that we need to talk about, specifically regarding the year-long detention of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj. In addition, there are other famous cases like former president Ilir Meta who has been held in pre-trial detention for 17 months but for the sake of this post, I will focus on Erion Veliaj given that he is – in contrast to Ilir Meta- an incumbent democratically elected official (mayor).
The Systemic Failure Angle
The problem isn't just one person; it's the system. Albania’s special anti-corruption unit, SPAK, was supposed to be the "Albanian FBI." But lately, it looks more like it is prioritizing headlines over actual due process. Erion Veliaj has been in pre-trial detention for over a year now, and until a court order in March 2026, his legal team was actually blocked from seeing 60,000 pages of evidence against him. Think about that for a second: the prosecution gets a full year to build a mountain of paperwork, but the defense isn't even allowed to see the files. In what version of a democracy is a 'secret evidence' trial considered progress?
A Decade of Delays: When the Legal Process Becomes the Sentence
The reality on the ground is that the "fix" might be making things worse. This is a point that U.S. Congressman Keith Self recently emphasized. He noted that Albania’s judicial reforms have created delays of 8 to 15 years, arguing that this backlog "undermines the rule of law, public trust, and due process." These systemic delays show that just creating a new institution like SPAK isn't a catchall solution if the actual court process takes a decade. For someone like Erion Veliaj, the process itself becomes the punishment.
This isn't just an American observation. European lawmakers are also taking note and it’s hard not to: Recent data shows that a staggering 58% of Albania’s prison population is currently held in remand, five times higher than the EU average. Danish MEP Anders Vistisen put it bluntly during a recent delegation visit: "The seriously deficient system of justice in many of these pre-accession states like Albania should be a serious wake-up call... In a few of these states, pre-trial detention can be seen as a tool of political censorship and financial punishment. It is not fit for purpose."
The Phantom Accusers: A Case Built on Fake Identities?
To see just how "deficient" the system can get, look at the latest bizarre development in Veliaj's case. Veliaj recently filed criminal charges from prison against his primary accusers, "Nesti Angoni" and "Nasta Pëllumbi." The catch? Neither of these people actually exist.
Official civil registry verifications show these are entirely fabricated identities used to sign the initiating documents for SPAK's criminal proceedings against him. Instead of a standard anonymous tip, someone actively simulated real complainants with fake names and forged signatures to manufacture "artificial credibility" and trigger a massive investigation. This completely bypasses SPAK’s own public standards for verifying reports. How does a specialized "FBI-level" anti-corruption unit launch a democracy-altering prosecution and lock up a democratically elected mayor based on phantom accusers?
A Dangerous Trend for the Region
It is not just an Albanian thing to obstruct local democracy. Mayors across the region, from the B40 network, are calling this a "dangerous trend." Why? Because We are seeing similar tactics used against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. This is already covered by a fine European institutions like the Council of Europe who commissioned the Venice commission to investigate pre-trial detention of mayors. The Venice Commission released a report warning that increasing sitting mayors without a trial is a direct threat to local democracy. It basically overrides the will of the voters before a verdict.
If the EU wants to expand, it needs states who respect both rule of law and local governance, not just aggressive prosecutors. When "anti-corruption" campaigns serve as a tool to settle political scores, rely on fabricated or anonymous accusations, and paralyse local governments, the legitimacy of the whole reform process comes into question.
What do you guys think?
- Can the EU really accept a candidate state that keeps elected officials in limbo for over 365 days without a trial?
- Should the U.S. and EU take more responsibility for the institutions they helped build?
- How concerning is it that a major federal investigation was allegedly sparked by non-existent citizens?
I think that Erion Veliaj is currently the high-profile test case for the Copenhagen Criteria. If Albania cannot get the balance between justice and due process right, it might be a long time before the Western Balkans are truly ready for Brussels.