Remarks by U.S. Ambassador John L. Withers at the Signing Ceremony, MCC-Albania Threshold Program II (October 17, 2008)

Mr. Prime Minister, Honorable Ministers, Ms. Kraham, distinguished ladies and gentlemen.

Today is a day of pride. Today is a day of hope. Today is a day of expectation.
Today is a day of pride because we celebrate the successes of the first stage MCC-Albania Threshold Program. Those successes have been many. Those successes have been significant. Those successes have been profound, as we have seen and heard today.

Today is also a day of pride because in just a few moments we’ll sign the agreement for Stage II MCC Threshold.

In the last two years, the MCC project has assisted the Government of Albania in implementing a number of high-impact reforms aimed at reducing corruption and informality and improving the business climate in Albania.

The introduction of the new tax procedure law, the development of the e-filing and e-procurement systems, the establishment of the National Registration Center, as well as the strengthening of the Procurement Advocate and the National Agency for Information Society are some of the many highlights of the project-supported reforms.

We need not be bashful, neither the Government of Albania, nor the Government of the United States, in proclaiming the successes of these activities in fighting corruption and in bringing about better social reform here, in this close ally of the United States.

Together we have fought corruption and together we have brought increasing efficiency in numerous business practices that will make Albania an increasingly attractive place for business investment. Indeed, today is a day of pride.

Today is also a day of hope, because Stage II of the Threshold Program will build on what we together have already accomplished.

We will seek to increase professionalism in service-oriented public administration. We will seek to consolidate the rule of law and the respect for rule of law not only in average citizens, but in the officials of government.

We will make leaders of government and society accountable for the goodness of their governance. Through such programs as Regional Joint Investigative Units, we will fight corruption everywhere in this country.

But today is also a day of expectation. I am often asked: What is the U.S. interest in Albania? Why would you fight to bring not only a first-stage MCC here, but a second-stage MCC? Beyond the reasons and more profound than the reasons that we have outlined here today, the answer is very simple: the answer is democracy.

Without democracy, none of our mutual goals, neither the ones that we have outlined today, nor the broader goals of a free market, or regional stability, or human rights, would be possible.

Democracy, not in word, but in practice, is the essential foundation of what we wish to achieve here. For Americans, democracy is a very serious thing. It is not a slogan, not a cliché, not a motto. It is not a convenience. It is not part-time. It is not something to be invoked at the whim of high officials when it is convenient for them to do so.

Today is a day of expectations, of higher expectations than we have ever known. Tomorrow, those expectations will be higher still.

When the American Government, led by the White House, invited Albania to NATO membership in April, its expectation was that Albania would meet the highest standards of democracy.

When last month, the U.S. Senate ratified Albania's NATO Protocols, its expectation was that Albania would have an unchangeable, irrevocable commitment to democracy.

Americans are very serious about democracy.

That is why I have expressed concerns about recent developments here in Albania. I have sometimes been told, including as recently as last evening, that my concerns are based on misunderstandings of what is going on here.

I would like to make clear to those persons that we Americans know how a democratic system works. My concerns, and the concerns of my government, are not based on misunderstandings. They are based on realities.

The actions of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior last weekend are disturbing because they are real.

The judicial administration law that intrudes on the authorities and the prerogatives of the court, and that is now before the Parliament, is disturbing because it is real.

The moves in Parliament, even today, for an inquiry into the operations of the Prosecutor General for no legitimate reason, are disturbing because they are real.

These are events that my Government and I will follow closely and we will be serious about them.

Ladies and gentlemen, today is a day of pride. Today is a day of hope. Today is a day of expectation.

As Albania develops, those expectations will go higher and higher still. So, what we are here doing today, in creating a partnership, in renewing a partnership, in developing a partnership, along the bonds that the MCC allows us to do, is important.

Together, we can alleviate these concerns. Together, we can bring the aspirations for democracy that Albanians and Americans together share.