Chief Special Prosecutor Dumani, SPAK Prosecutors, NBI Director Hajnaj, NBI and financial investigators, Ambassador Gonzato, other distinguished Ambassadors who I had the pleasure of meeting, Justice Minister Manja , and all distinguished guests, thank you for the opportunity to join you in celebrating the five-year anniversary of SPAK.  

It is a real honor and a true privilege to speak with all of you today on this very auspicious occasion.

First, congratulations to Chief Special Prosecutor Dumani on being named an Anti-Corruption Champion by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken on December 9th, International Anti-Corruption Day.  I was there for the ceremony. It was very moving. It was a great day for Albania. 

As you – Chief Special Prosecutor Dumani yourself said last week in Washington D.C., this award is not just for Dumani, it is not just for SPAK, it is all of SPAK, and for all of Albania’s citizens.  

The Secretary of State acknowledged SPAK’s ongoing work to fight corruption and organized crime and improve the lives of the Albanian people. It is a significant moment for this institution, and we congratulate you from the United States and from D.C. once again.   

As you celebrate SPAK’s first five years as an institution, it is essential to pause and reflect on Albania’s justice reform progress.  

Your fellow Albanian citizens were and continue to be the driving force behind Albania’s justice reform.  

They demanded change, and the government listened.  

It took immense courage to embark on this journey.  

Courage for political leaders to show the political will to change Albania’s constitution and laws in hope of a better future.  

Courage to build an institution from nothing, to put your newly passed laws into practice.  

And courage to work hard to fight the powers of corruption and organized crime with sustained vigor.  

This courage and will to make changes for a brighter future are as important today as they were at the beginning of Albania’s justice reform journey.   

Justice reform in Albania has neither been easy, quick, nor perfect.  

The results of your work ripple through society, compelling citizens, officials, politicians, and bureaucrats to rethink their actions, sometimes slowing down basic elements of daily life and government bureaucracy as they unlearn the damaging practice of graft and corruption.  

That process requires time and patience, to learn about transparency and integrity. It is critical in any democracy that citizens  know that their government will treat them fairly, that their applications or requests will have a fair hearing and consideration, and to feel confident that they are on the right side of the law.  

Short-term pain leads to long-term progress and will put Albanian citizens on the right side of the law, and Albania on the right side of history.  

This is also essential for Albania’s path to EU accession, which has received some additional, most welcome momentum in recent weeks.  And I would like to acknowledge the leadership of the Prime Minister and his government which has produced impressive reform progress.

During this time of immense pressure and transition, we urged you all here today to press forward on the journey, as all Albanians work to anchor rule of law in your country.  

SPAK plays an indispensable role in this fight.  

Your institution is accountable to the citizens of Albania, and your strong results to date reflect how seriously each and every inspector and prosecutor takes her or his responsibilities. 

Your remarkable arrests, prosecutions and convictions as we have just seen here from Chief Prosecutor Dumani against previously “untouchable” figure speak volumes.  

Your work inspires confidence that evidence will be pursued within the framework of the law, regardless of where – and to whom – investigations lead.  

No one is above the law.   

In addition to being accountable to the Albanian citizens, SPAK continues to hold itself accountable – your actions are accountable to the High Justice Inspector, and your leaders present themselves in person and through reports to Parliament and the High Prosecutorial Council, sessions that sometimes have lasted hours.  

These public exchanges within the framework of the law are fundamental to building public trust and maintaining it, as SPAK and other independent judicial institutions grow and establish themselves.  

Why is such  oversight, inquiry, and monitoring needed?  

Independent institutions can and should be accountable, but their independence must be preserved, as this allows them to become more effective.  

SPAK’s independence remains crucial.  

In five short years, SPAK has become the most trusted public institution in Albania.  

Foreign partners seek SPAK’s expertise to fight Albanian organized crime in their countries.  

As Chief Dumani often emphasizes in his public remarks, SPAK cannot solve all of Albania’s problems alone.  

Other Albanian institutions must also demonstrate courage, build public trust, and act with independence and integrity.  

Fighting corruption is the duty of every Albanian citizen, no matter where they work or whom they know.   

As we celebrate the first five years of SPAK, we also look to the future with hope and anticipation.  

We are confident that SPAK is just getting started and will continue to inspire faith in Albania’s citizens, visitors, and investors that a safer, more prosperous, and more democratic future is possible.  

To ensure that SPAK continues to take the fight against corruption and organized crime into the future, we believe SPAK prosecutors must be allowed to apply to serve again after their current mandates end.  

Failing to do so risks cutting short the most successful effort against organized crime and corruption in Albania’s history and risks losing your most experienced professionals and their institutional knowledge.  

The United States celebrates the progress SPAK has made in its short history.  

Your work makes all of us safer, both in Albania and across the globe.  

We have been with you from the day you first turned on the lights five years ago.  We look forward to keeping the lights on with you, as you continue your fight with courage and conviction.  

Again, I congratulate all of you and the people of Albania on this critical fifth anniversary of SPAK.

It is an honor to be here with you.  Thank you.