National Plan for European Integration 2017-2020

Official Bulletin no.11, dated 31 January 2017

Council of Ministers, by Decision no. 42, dated 25.1.2017, adopted the National Plan for European Integration 2017-2020 (NPEI)

The National Plan for European Integration includes medium and long term measures, extending to 2020, in order for Albania to reach full legal approximation of the national legislation with the EU acquis and align all its sectors with standards set by the acquis chapters. The NPEI will be revised annually and take stock of the progress achieved, not only in the approximation rate but also in the implementation of the approximated legislation.

Approximation of national legislation with the EU acquis consists of these steps:

  • Review of the EU legislation;
  • Identification of gaps/acts in contradiction in the national legislation;
  • Drawing of/ revision of the Albanian approximated legal acts;
  • Monitoring the enforcement of approximated legislation.

NPEI aims to coordinate this approximation process by defining priorities for acts to be approximated, ministries tasked with drafting/ revising the Albanian legal acts, degree of approximation, and dates of adoption and entry into force.

Timely and qualitative elaboration and adoption of the National Plan will improve coordination and monitoring of this process. Failure to meet the deadlines will hamper inter-institutional coordination underpinning the EU integration process and the alignment of national legislation to EU acquis.

Preparation of the National Plan for European Integration 2015-2020 and its annual revisions are coordinated by the Ministry of European Integration in cooperation with IWGs. Pursuant to Decision of Council of Ministers No 946 of 9.10.2013 “On the scope of the Ministry of European Integration”, MEI provides the methodology and guidelines on NPEI drafting and monitoring.

NPEI is drafted in full compliance with the Albanian Government’s Legislative Programme. Such compliance is monitored by MEI during the preparation of both these documents.