EURALIUS

A German Foreign Office source told BIRN that at the upcoming EU Council meeting on December 13, Berlin is expected to back the European Commission views that the EU should open accession talks with Albania once key judicial reforms and a judicial vetting law are in place.

The Albanian Constitutional Court decided on Tuesday to stall one of the core laws on judicial reform, a move that experts believe could jeopardise the country's chances of opening EU accession talks this year.

The court accepted a request from the main opposition Democratic Party to stall progress on the Law on Reassessment of Judges and Prosecutors, known as the 'vetting' law.