Territorial reform and lack of real decentralization in Albania

Albania has undertaken decentralization reforms at least in two separate instances in the post-communist period. The first was in late 1990s and the second with the territorial reform of 2016. Although the focus of the first was to bring Albania in line with the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the second officially to have a more effective governing of the territory, the real decentralization of power has not taken place. This is not so much because of the lack of proper legal framework or the necessary constitutional changes but mostly because of lack of real political will to delegate power to subsidiaries, to empower municipalities and to create the basis for actual autonomy of the local authorities.