Denada Jushi
With the fall of the communist regime in Albania, after nearly 5 decades without recognizing the notion of freedom, the great promise of the political class and society as a whole was the return to freedom.
Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “Freedom cannot be given; it must be earned.”
After 36 years, we still haven't achieved freedom; we remain "partly free," according to Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2025 report.
Albania made modest progress, with only one point more compared to last year's report. Out of 100 points, Albania was rated with 68 points. In the Balkans, countries are mostly rated with the same status, but with different points.
Albania is rated slightly better than Serbia with 53 points and Bosnia with 54 points. Montenegro has 68 points and North Macedonia 67 points.
While there is a difference in status and points among countries in the region that are already part of the EU, such as Slovenia, Croatia, and Greece, which have a much larger difference in points.
However, there is no country classified as "not free" in the region, but most of the Western Balkans remains "partly free".
The Freedom in the World report includes assessments of political rights and civil liberties in 195 countries and 13 territories around the world. This year's report covers developments from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025.
The report found that 54 countries experienced a deterioration in political rights and civil liberties, while only 35 saw improvements. Today, only 21 percent of the world's population lives in countries rated as free, down from 46 percent two decades ago, the report said.
But what does the report show about Albania?
The report emphasizes that Albania has elections and some basic freedoms, but serious problems remain with corruption, political polarization, and the influence of economic interests in the media and politics.
First, corruption remains a major problem. The report highlights that corruption is still a serious problem in Albania, despite efforts to combat it through judicial reform. Corruption affects several sectors of the administration.
Second, elections are competitive, but politics is highly polarized. Albania has competitive elections, but the political system remains centralized and polarized. Parties are often organized around leaders rather than party institutions.
Third, problems with the media and economic influence. According to the study, the media is influenced by political and economic interests.
SPAK seems to receive the only positive evaluation.
"The judicial system has been reformed and SPAK has increased public trust. But justice institutions still face a lack of capacity and a heavy caseload," the report states.
As for Kosovo , the report says that it has marked a slight improvement in the 2026 Freedom in the World report , being rated 61 points out of 100, one more than a year ago.
The report published on March 19 states that in Kosovo "courts have issued decisions that demonstrate their independence, although they have faced great political pressure."
According to the report, the political and institutional crisis that hit Kosovo over the past year, when the country was governed almost all the time by an acting government, has affected the country's progress in the judiciary.
In conclusion, what results from the observation of this report over the years is that Albania has been "partially free" almost throughout the entire period.
The year 2009 was the only time it was classified as “free”, after several reforms and improvements to the electoral process. The country then reverted to “partly free” status, abandoning the great promise of three decades ago to be free./ acqj.al
