TIRANA, March 30 /ATA/-By Maela Marini/ Prime Minister Edi Rama stated, during a presentation on the progress of Albania’s European Union accession negotiations, that the “foremost challenge” remains ensuring food safety and the comprehensive protection of consumers.
The Prime Minister underscored that the inspection reform must continue and highlighted that its political oversight is a critical responsibility of all ministries.
He stated, “The reform must be protected from partisan interference and political pressures. It is essential that the initiatives launched with the AKU (National Food Authority) be extended across all other inspectorates to ensure the availability of qualified human resources.”
The Prime Minister emphasized that inspection standards must be substantially strengthened, as they are essential for guaranteeing the successful implementation of ongoing reforms.
He also drew attention to the inspections conducted by European Union institutions at the livestock facilities.
“This is one of the most sensitive and complex elements of the EU accession process, as has been the case for all countries before us. The inspections carried out have identified several tasks, the completion of which will advance progress and bring us closer to meeting the requirements in this field, which demands rigorous and highly competent monitoring and oversight by our institutions,” Rama stated.
According to him, this process should go hand in hand with enhancements in inspection quality, both in terms of human resources and technology. /a.g/sm/
