THE EUROPEAN UNION AS A REFORMING POWER IN THE WESTERN BALKANS: THE CASE OF ALBANIA

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Klodiana Beshku
Orjana Mullisi

Abstract

This paper tries to further elaborate one of the most important external powers of the European Union: Its “reforming power” which goes in parallel with its ability as “normative actor” in the Western Balkans. Through Albania as a case study, it tries to argue that the process of Albania’s integration to the EU has transformed the country in several directions: by introducing a deep juridical reform and by the full alignment of its foreign policy with CFSP and the “regional cooperation”. In fact, under the auspices of the EU integration, the country is making all the efforts to deliver on one of the most transformative reforms undertaken in the region, that of the justice system. This gives to EU the features of a “reforming power”. The term shows the EU as a driving force which makes countries undertake deep reforms they would not have differently realized, if not under the conditionality for the EU integration.


 

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How to Cite
Beshku, Klodiana, and Orjana Mullisi. 2020. “THE EUROPEAN UNION AS A REFORMING POWER IN THE WESTERN BALKANS: THE CASE OF ALBANIA”. Journal of Liberty and International Affairs 4 (2):40-53. https://www.e-jlia.com/index.php/jlia/article/view/121.
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Articles
Author Biographies

Klodiana Beshku, Department of Political Sciences, University of Tirana, Albania

Klodiana Beshku is born in Tirana, Albania. She is graduated in University of Siena, Italy, in Political Sciences/International Relations. She has obtained a Master degree in European Studies by the University of Siena and University Robert Schuman III of Strasbourg, France in 2005. She has a PhD in Geopolitics by the University of Pisa, Italy. Since 2008, she teaches at the University of Tirana while she has participated in many International conferences and workshops. Her areas of expertise are: European Studies, Regional Studies, Geopolitics and Security Studies. In 2013, she has co-edited the volume Albania and Europe in a Political Regard, published with the Cambridge scholar Publishing. During 2015-2016, she has been a fellow of LEAD Albania Program, a program similar to the White House Fellowships which brought her to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania as an adviser for the Western Balkans Region. Actually, she leads the Jean Monnet program of the Department of Political Sciences, Faculty of Social sciences, University of Tirana.

Orjana Mullisi, The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

Orjana Mullisi is born in Elbasan, Republic of Albania. Obtaining a scholarship by the European Commission, she graduated at the KU Leuven Faculty of Law, Belgium, as a Master's graduate of law in International and European studies in 2013. Until 2015 she was a researcher and contributed to various EU related projects. In 2015 in her capacity as a young civil servant and a diplomat coming from one of the Western Balkans countries and employed in the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania she deepened her knowledge on EU related issues as a desk officer in EU Department dealing with political dialogue and integration process of Albania to the EU. She participated in various EU oriented trainings, study visits, conferences and seminars abroad. On 2016 she was selected by the European Commission and British Council to participate to the EU Scheme for Young Professionals Program, an EU funded scheme aiming at contributing to progress in the accession process and to deepen regional cooperation among WB6 countries. Since 2017 she is a Diplomat at the Mission of the Republic of Albania to the EU in Brussels where she follows closely the latest developments regarding the EU accession process of WB countries while coordinating official visits of delegations from Albania to Brussels, and further intensifying the country's efforts to join EU.