THE ALBANIAN PUBLIC'S TRUST IN SECURITY: STUMBLING BLOCKS TO EU NEGOTIATIONS 4.2. Politicians It is a matter of public knowledge that organized crime organizations, in their quest for power and their desire to operate without harassment from the state, are keen to target and compromise politicians. Cooperation with politicians, and especially members of parliament, grant criminals both a status of being untouchable and windows of influence into the policy-making apparatus to curtail the process in their interest and to be prepared for changes that might affect them in their criminal endeavors. In the Albanian political arena, crime and organized crime is rarely missing from the public discourse. Indeed, it is very rare that a political discussion or argument on policy and changes to the law can take place, without accusations of relations to criminal organizations being thrown against political rivals. In many cases, these accusations are verily quite detailed, mentioning in intimate detail not only the fact that certain politicians are compromised by criminals but also the names of said criminals and the personal relationships that the politicians have with these people. Such accusations are usually replied to by the same token, by claiming that the accuser himself is also compromised by organized crime, and by mentioning the criminal figures with which the latter is involved with. Such a political climate is itself a testament to the high level of infiltration and corruption of the political system by organized crime. If we look into past developments, parliament under heavy pressure from US and EU representatives passed Law no. 138/2015, To Guarantee the Integrity of Elected Persons, Appointed to or Exercising Public Functions. This initiative came as a necessary step due to the election of several members of parliament and local representatives who, in their past had been exponents of crime. The law was initially thought to be a temporary solution to an acute problem, related to the recent elections. However, after 5 years it continues to be regularly referred to in matters of representatives who are found to be compromised in this regard. This law, widely reported as the Decriminalization Law, has contributed to several members of parliament losing their mandates, in addition to several elected mayors and other state officials. 59 Concerning the future elections, there has been a considerable effort made by foreign dignitaries to ensure that the 2021 General Elections for the Executive in Albania will be free of candidates for members of parliament that have criminal priors or that have been involved in criminal activity either in Albania or abroad. In an open letter to party leaders, the US embassy heavily underlined that the political leaders of the main parties will be responsible for any case in which the electoral lists for the 2021 elections are found to contain names that are not in compliance with the aforementioned law on the matter. In it, the ambassador also decried that any cases of falsified information or fraud 59 Article on the matter: https://www.zeriamerikes.com/a/dekriminalizimi-shqiperi-prodhon-debate/5121224.html 74