Five dead in Albanian prisons between the end of January and the beginning of April, at least two from cardiac arrest. With this picture, the Ombudsman, Mr. Endrit Shabani, opened his speech today at the National Council for European Integration.

"The distance between the protocol on paper and the treatment in practice is being measured in lives lost", stressed Mr. Shabani. According to him, the Interim Standards Assessment Report (IBAR) will not measure the number of open chapters, but the degree to which the reforms are felt by the Albanian citizen.

"We have a law against discrimination that is well read in Brussels, European integration begins when an Egyptian child has no obstacles to enrolling in kindergarten, or when a woman is treated the same as any other citizen in a health center," said the Ombudsman.

The same logic was illustrated with the current property compensation scheme, where the former owner receives no less than 10 percent of the current cadastral value.

Mr. Shabani put forward two concrete proposals: first, a dedicated budget increase from the Assembly for the prison and detention system; second, a legal obligation for public institutions to report on the level of implementation of the recommendations of independent institutions.

"We in the independent institutions are the ones who receive complaints when political parties are busy dealing with each other", the Ombudsman underlined.

"This position makes us useful for the European process, because we see problems with the aim of solving them, not using them, and not hiding them", concluded Shabani.

Full speech

On May 8, 2026, the Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, visited day centers of the Georgian Mental Health Association and the Parents' Support NNLE in Tbilisi.

The Public Defender inspected the physical environment of the day centers, spoke with managers and employees, met with beneficiaries, discussed the challenges relating to the promotion of independent living for persons with disabilities, and focused on the importance of education and employment for the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in public life.

Currently, 15 beneficiaries receive services at the day center of Parents' Support. The head of the organization introduced the Public Defender to the specifics of the day center's work, programme, and services offered. He also spoke about the challenges that the center faces in the case of adult persons with disabilities. The insufficient amount of voucher funding for the service and the shortage of necessary staff were named as a particular problem. As a result, adult persons with disabilities who need complex care and behavior management often remain outside the services of the day center. In addition, despite the steps taken towards professional development, employment of persons with disabilities is still rare, which is one of the main prerequisites for ensuring their independent life.

The day center of the Georgian Mental Health Association currently provides psychosocial rehabilitation services to 36 persons with mental health problems. The main challenge is related to the amount of voucher funding for the service, which cannot ensure the employment of all necessary specialists and the attraction of qualified staff, and therefore has a negative impact on the quality of the service. The existing funding cannot provide the beneficiaries with the opportunity to carry out external activities, including excursions or various cultural or sports events, at the appropriate frequency, which is an important component of socialization. Stable employment of beneficiaries at the subsequent stage of their preparation for independent living is a problem. In addition to the ineffectiveness of state programmes, the lack of appropriate readiness in the labour market was also cited as the reason for this.

It is noteworthy that despite the shortage of psychosocial rehabilitation services in the country, the limit of the day center is not fully filled. This is related to the problem of both information dissemination and referral to the service, as well as the low awareness of mental health in society. The visit once again demonstrates the need to strengthen and improve the quality of mental health rehabilitation services, which the Public Defender constantly emphasizes.

The Public Defender of Georgia continues to work to expand and improve the quality of targeted rehabilitation programmes that promote independent living of persons with disabilities, and periodically conducts on-site assessments of the challenges in similar services.

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva called for urgent institutional intervention in response to the sharp increase in the cost of mandatory motor third-party liability insurance, after the institution received numerous complaints from citizens and representatives of motorcycle clubs across the country. 

5 May 2026

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva called for urgent institutional intervention in response to the sharp increase in the cost of mandatory motor third-party liability insurance, after the institution received numerous complaints from citizens and representatives of motorcycle clubs across the country. 

The complaints point to a serious and recurring problem—price increases of between 50% and 80% for motorcycles, and in some cases, over 100%. Industry organisations even cite a price increase range of between 70% and 300%. According to them, there are no clear economic arguments or publicly available analyses to justify this increase, and prices in Bulgaria already significantly exceed those in neighbouring countries.

There is widespread public discontent and a perception that citizens and businesses are being unfairly burdened. Citizens are calling for an investigation into whether prices are based on real economic factors and comply with the principles of transparency and market logic.

In this regard, the Ombudsman has requested that the National Revenue Agency and the Consumer Protection Commission conduct inspections within their respective areas of competence, in accordance with the Law on the Introduction of the Euro in Bulgaria, of insurance companies to determine whether the prices they offer are economically justified. 

At the same time, the Ombudsman has also referred the matter to the Association of Bulgarian Insurers, recommending that insurance companies allow for the deferral of premiums for mandatory motor third-party liability insurance or to offer so-called “seasonal insurance,” which is an option available under the Insurance Code.

Yesterday, the Ombudsman met with representatives of the motorcycle community, and last week she requested the Financial Supervision Commission to conduct an investigation and to hold a meeting with the motorcycle community, which took place today.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman of Malta, Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, in his capacity as an elected Director of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) World Board, participated in the opening session of the IOI Board of Directors meeting currently being held in Willemstad. Organised by the Ombudsman of Curacao, the meeting brings together elected representatives from Ombudsman institutions around the world to discuss the strategic governance and future direction of the organisation.

Established in 1978, the IOI is the only global organisation dedicated to the cooperation of independent Ombudsman institutions. It represents more than 200 member institutions from over 100 countries and operates through six regional chapters: Africa, Asia, Australasia and Pacific, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, and North America. Through training programmes, research initiatives, regional funding, and international cooperation, the IOI supports the strengthening of Ombudsman institutions and the promotion of good governance and accountability worldwide.

Welcoming the members of the Board, the President of the IOI, Nadine Mailloux, Ombudsman of Montreal, Canada, underlined that the meeting reflects the shared commitment of Ombudsman institutions across the world towards the values and mission of the Ombudsman institution. She highlighted the importance of collegial dialogue and international cooperation in addressing common challenges and strengthening the role of Ombudsman institutions globally.