The European Commission said it is closely following a proposed amendment to Albania’s Criminal Procedure Code that would bar courts from suspending senior government officials from office.

The draft changes, presented Feb. 16 by the ruling majority led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, seek to amend Article 242 to prevent judges from ordering the suspension of the president, prime minister, cabinet members and heads of key constitutional institutions, including the central bank governor and the state auditor.

In a response to local media in Albania, the Commission said the EU “monitors and assesses every legislative initiative related to the judiciary in all candidate countries, including Albania,” adding that such initiatives are expected to comply with EU law and European standards. It noted that the latest proposal had not been previously consulted with Brussels.

The Commission stressed that rule of law, judicial independence and accountability remain fundamental to Albania’s EU accession process. It also reiterated that it is the responsibility of Albania’s parliament to examine without delay requests to lift lawmakers’ immunity, referring to the case involving Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku.

“Rhetoric that fosters public distrust toward the judiciary and the independence, impartiality and integrity of judicial and prosecutorial systems is counterproductive,” the Commission said, underlining that effective anti-corruption efforts are key to Albania’s progress toward EU membership.

The amendment proposal follows a 4-4 split decision by the Constitutional Court of Albania in a case linked to Balluku, after which the ruling Socialists moved to revise the procedural code.