Prime Minister Rama has lowered his tone in relation to judges and prosecutors after the approval of the salary law in parliament. "I do not want conflict with the judiciary, but institutional cooperation," Rama wrote in a status on social networks where he proposed a roundtable discussion with representatives of the judiciary.
The Prime Minister says that they should handle the issue with "wisdom and patience" and to set an example of state dignity before the citizens and partners of the country. Rama's concern about the salaries that will be given to judges and prosecutors has been unusual. The Prime Minister had never shown this concern about the way taxpayers' money is spent, not even for serious scandals of looting public money such as incinerators, AKSHI tenders, Erjon Veliaj's director tenders, Belinda Balluku's road tenders, etc.
On the other hand, the judiciary has not taken any steps back on the issue of salaries. SPAK has now launched an investigation into the delays in the administration's salaries, while it has summoned for questioning State Treasury executives.
Below is the full status of Edi Rama inviting judges and prosecutors to the table:
"I hope and believe that the representatives of the judicial power, starting from the leaders of the two councils and then the leaders of the judicial institutions, will respond positively to the invitation to sit together at a working table without wasting time, and to address the topic of the magistrates' salary system in order to find a sustainable long-term solution, which guarantees them forever but at the same time guarantees the permanent balance of the state salary pyramid."
Our round table will also welcome the participation of experts from the Council of Europe, as well as the contribution of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice. Albanian magistrates should not forget that their hitherto unimaginable degree of independence and their treatment with the highest salaries in the Republic of Albania and among the highest in the region, did not fall from the sky, they bear the seal of the will of this governing majority, which does not want conflict with the judiciary but institutional cooperation, in respect of mutual independence.
And if we have disagreements, it is up to us to handle them with wisdom and patience, setting an example of state dignity for our citizens and at the same time for Albania's partners."
