TIRANA, Oct 8 /ATA/ At its meeting today, the Conference of Chairpersons examined the request submitted by the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party for the conduct of a motion with debate and the establishment of a special committee of the Assembly of Albania in connection with the OLAF findings concerning funds from the IPARD program.
After deliberations, the ruling majority voted against the opposition’s request for a motion with debate.
During the debate, the head of the Democratic Party parliamentary group, Gazment Bardhi, stated that requests for debate would be submitted on a weekly basis.
“Those who seek to represent the interests of crime find excuses to block the debate. There is no contradiction in our request for a motion with debate and the establishment of a special committee. But this is what happens when the matter is read superficially while the only thought in mind is how to reject the request,” Bardhi said.
He argued that the claim regarding the unavailability of OLAF reports is unfounded, as the reports are official and publicly accessible online.
The Democratic Party called for a motion with debate and the formation of a Special Parliamentary Committee on the freezing of IPARD funds, pointing to OLAF’s findings, which, according to the party, reveal the misappropriation of €33 million that resulted in the suspension of a total package of €112 million.
OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office, is tasked with investigating breaches of the EU budget and cases of corruption.
The opposition requested that the Assembly adopt measures to safeguard EU funds from unlawful appropriation. In its submission, the Democratic Party proposed the adoption of a draft resolution calling on judicial authorities to carry out a thorough and expedited investigation into individuals implicated in what the party labels as the misappropriation of funds intended for Albanian farmers.
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