TIRANA, May 16 /ATA/ The Ministerial meeting between the European Union (EU) and the countries of the Western Balkans, Turkey, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, as candidate countries for EU membership, took place in Brussels.
The purpose of this annual meeting was to approve the Joint Conclusions document for the economic and financial reform programs that these countries had presented in January 2024. For Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, the programs were presented this year for the first time, after receiving candidate country status.
In this meeting, Albania was represented by the ambassador of Albania in Brussels and the head of the Mission to the European Union, Ferit Hoxha, and by the second deputy governor of the Bank of Albania, Natasha Ahmetaj.
In her address, Deputy Governor Ahmetaj focused on monetary and financial developments during 2023. She emphasized monetary policy actions to control inflation, which resulted in its incremental decline towards the target level of the Bank of Albania. Despite the drop in inflation, the Bank of Albania’s monetary policy will be guided by current data and will evaluate developments in risk factors and the expectations of economic agents.
Ahmetaj described the developments in the financial system and the banking sector during 2023 as positive, with very good indicators of financial performance and resistance to risks. The latter are still present and require the constant attention of the financial industry and regulatory authorities.
In conclusion, Ahmetaj, on behalf of the Bank of Albania endorsed the content of the document.
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