Brussels, 13/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 13 November, the European Commission adopted the 2013 national programme for Albania under the instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA) worth a total of €82 million. The programme will enable 19 programmes to be financed which are “tailored to the specific needs of the country, supporting reforms and investments in key areas such as governance, justice and home affairs, transport, environment, employment and social inclusion, as well as agriculture and rural development”, the Commission stated in its press release. The Commission underlined that for the first time the programme includes a set of projects which will be directly implemented by the Albanian administration through grant and public procurement procedures, as soon as Albania receives the green light from the Commission to manage IPA funds.
The programme will contribute to strengthening the independence and efficiency of justice, to improving the fight against corruption and organised crime, and will support concrete reforms in the area of public administration. Justice, the fight against corruption and organised crime, and reform of the administration are four of the five priorities on which Albania must make progress before the Commission recommends opening accession negotiations. On 22 October, the Commission recommended granting candidate status to Albania and this is currently being discussed at member state level.
Specific measures will also help socio-economic development, through supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and through improving the performance of the government's labour and social policies. The funding will also support protection of the environment including waste management, and will prepare Albania for the management of European funds for agriculture. It will also fund small- and medium-scale investment measures to support farmers. Strategic infrastructure projects in rural areas will also be implemented to rehabilitate the network of secondary roads and construct efficient water supply systems. (CG/transl.fl)