Albania is now a member of the European Civil Protection Mechanism under an agreement signed on Friday 18 November in Tirana by the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, and Albanian Defence Minister Niko Peleshi.
Albania was already a beneficiary of the urgent assistance in kind offered by this European solidarity mechanism, as are all countries in the world that request it in the event of a large-scale natural or man-made disaster that exceeds their capacity to cope. By becoming a participating member, Albania will also be able to provide assistance to requesting countries.
After the signing ceremony, Niko Peleshi welcomed “an important day” for Albania, which is “often exposed to natural disasters”, and stressed the need to increase human capacity and training in his country.
He also welcomed the speed with which this administrative agreement was able to be signed, while his country “is sometimes impatient with the length of the EU integration process, particularly with regard to the approximation of legislation”.
Thanking Albania, Janez Lenarčič asserted that “by working together, we can significantly improve our emergency preparedness and build a more resilient disaster management system in Europe”.
Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the EU Civil Protection Mechanism last September as the 34th participating member (see EUROPE 13015/17). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)