TIRANA, April 15 /ATA/ Minister of Environment, Sofjan Jaupaj, took part today in the 4th Albanian Diaspora Summit, in the panel titled “The Albanian diaspora as a supporting partner for European integration and sustainable development.”

In his address, Jaupaj focused on Albania’s European integration process through the fulfilment of Chapter 27, which covers environmental protection and climate change.

“The Environment Chapter is one of the key drivers of the process for several reasons, as it is the longest chapter. Environmental impact, in any type of infrastructure intervention or otherwise, is of significant importance; however, for Albania it is also the most costly chapter,” Jaupaj said.

According to him, this chapter covers 10 key areas related to quality of life and human health, ranging from water quality, wastewater, waste management, protected areas, nature, chemicals, climate change, and others.

Minister Jaupaj stated that “at the Ministry of Environment, together with 29 institutions, we are advancing work on Chapter 27, which was opened in September last year. Over the course of approximately one and a half years, we are expected to adopt around 400 legislative and regulatory acts that form what is known as the EU legal framework.

However, Jaupaj continued, this alone is not sufficient. Work has also been undertaken to estimate the financial cost in order to determine the cost of Albania’s environmental integration into the European Union, noting that this represents a significant financial burden.

“We are referring here to public investment; however, we often overlook the fact that the private sector is also a key contributor to what is known as the green transformation or the green agenda that we are implementing. I consider that the private sector is significantly ahead of the public sector in terms of investment. When examining private sector investment that transforms the economy from a linear model into a circular economy, we observe that it is members of the Albanian diaspora who have introduced some of the most advanced models in Albania,” Jaupaj underlined.

Jaupaj stated that “it is members of the Albanian diaspora who have, for the first time, been exposed to concepts such as climate change, the circular economy, recycling, and reuse, whereas Albania, during the transition period, remained a largely disordered society and continued to operate under what is known as a linear economy—produce and dispose—rather than recycle and reintegrate.”

Jaupaj informed that “the Ministry of Environment, through a dedicated programme, is promoting and engaging these businesses under an initiative called ‘Create and Circulate’, with a particular focus on businesses owned by members of the Albanian diaspora.”

“A specific aspect pursued and advanced by the Ministry of Environment concerns what we define as protected areas in Albania. Approximately 22% of the country’s territory is designated as protected areas, which constitute one of Albania’s most important assets in the tourism sector. We are moving ahead with management plans for these areas, while at the same time seeking to introduce what is known as a sustainable economy for the communities living within these areas,” Jaupaj said.

Jaupaj also cited the significant work carried out by the Ministry of Environment and civil society over the past three years to designate the Vjosa River—the last wild river in Europe—as a national park.

“It was a monumental effort, as it involved a 480-kilometre river, along with the government’s serious commitment to terminate 26 hydropower contracts and halt construction in this protected area, which we are now further advancing through programmes such as the ‘Mountain Package’,” Jaupaj said.

Jaupaj stated that “the tourism sector is highly important. Last year recorded 12.5 million foreign visitors, of whom 60% did not visit the beaches but instead travelled to the central and inland areas of the country, exploring national parks, mountains, rivers, lakes, and other natural sites.”

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Also this training included the Albanian Railways, which is actively engaged in the process of improving safety standards and aligning with the best European practices.

The training brought together officials and experts in the field, with the aim of exchanging experiences and knowledge on incident prevention and the improvement of safety systems.

The primary focus of this activity is directly linked to the strategic objective of the EU Agency, which aims to achieve zero accidents throughout the entire region.

The enhancement of professional capacities, along with the continuous training of staff to prevent incidents and ensure optimal safety in transportation, remains a top priority for both national and international institutions engaged in the railway transport sector.
This regional and European collaboration is regarded as a significant step towards enhancing the safety, reliability, and sustainability of railway transport in Albania and beyond.
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TIRANA, Sept 8 /ATA/ Last week Slovenia hosted the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF), a conference well-known for its traditional discussion about the Western Balkans. Although this year the discussions evidently surpassed the regional attention and had a global outreach, the Western Balkan’s future within the EU stole the spotlight. The idea presented by the President of the European Council Charles Michel that the EU and the Western Balkans should be ready for the enlargement by 2030 echoed loudly. The so-called ‘Bled pledge’ left no one cold-hearted, but left everyone with a question mark whether both sides could actually be ready for the enlargement by that date.

My answer to all these questions is clear: the opportunity is here and we should seize it with full speed. We should work towards finding a sufficient political will in the Western Balkans to reform and the political will in the EU to enlarge. We should focus on the final destination, but we shouldn’t overlook the journey.

When it comes to the European Union, the EU enlargement is undoubtedly back on the agenda. Geopolitical landscape makes it clear that there is no alternative to the EU enlargement. The war in Ukraine has increased the appetite for enlargement, as well as affirmed the notion that enlargement is a strategic necessity for the EU. In simple terms – it is now or never.

This of course doesn’t mean that the EU enlargement criteria will be dropped and that the Western Balkans could enter the Union without fulfilling them. It means that more political attention will be given to the region, and that the Western Balkans countries will be asked to deliver expediently.

For the EU this means a self-commitment to reform its decision-making process and to prepare itself, in institutional and financial terms. The EU with more than 30 member states behind the table can simply not be efficient as it should be. Such a reform will not be an easy task, but it is a necessary one. And it is of a strategic importance for the EU, at the same level of importance as the enlargement.

Sceptics would argue that all these tasks appear to be very difficult until 2030. But the realistic point of view is that there won’t be any better offer on the table for the Western Balkans countries and a better opportunity for the Union to improve and adapt to the new global realities.

In Bled, I revealed a formula for the future EU in 2030, called in English “3E by 3E”, encompassing these goals. The EU of 2030 should be more engaged with the World, enlarged with the Western Balkans and our Easters partners, and should have evolved decision-making process to become more efficient. The EU should approach these processes with eagerness, expedience and based on experience. I believe there is nothing much to add.

The years to come will not be about perceptions nor deceptions. They will be about hard work on both sides, the Western Balkans and the EU, in order to prepare both sides for the EU enlargement by 2030.

These difficult times will demand courageous leaders on both sides. Leaders who will look into the future. Leaders who would be ready to put the enlargement at the top of their agenda, and to take the necessary decisions enabling the enlargement to take place. The European elections will therefore be an important milestone for the goal of 2030.

Regardless of the elections, the Western Balkans can always count on Slovenia. We will remain a firm supporter of the full-speed EU enlargement process. A friend of the region in good and bad. For example, Slovenia already advocates the opening of the EU accession negotiations with BiH by the end of this year.

Time will tell whether President Michel gave a historic speech at Bled. I hope the Bled pledge will materialize also because of our magical Bled. The place where beautiful Alpine mountainous scenery meets the crystal-clear lake water is the best place for miracles to happen.

The Agency for Agricultural and Rural Development announced that, thanks to the support from the IPARD II program, today 38 enterprises have increased the standards and production capacities in the sector of milk and its by-products.

These investments include the construction of stables, equipment and automatic milking lines, cold rooms, milk processing lines, construction of dairy farms, installation of photovoltaic panels, as well as agricultural machinery.

New equipment and techniques have increased production yield and helped reduce costs for farmers, also milk collection points play an important role in helping local farmers to sell their produce.

The expansion and development of these enterprises has impacted the promotion of employment and the increase of income in the rural economy.
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The Farmer’s Portal as a digital instrument in support of farmers, livestock farmers and all people of the rural sector transparently informs on:

Product prices in wholesale markets updated daily.

Support schemes, as well as information on financing instruments in agriculture.

Laboratories where food or soil tests are performed, along with the fees and availability of the services offered.
Complete information regarding the geolocation of producers, agro-processors, slaughterhouses, veterinary pharmacies, seeds and seedlings, beekeeping and many others.

Information on land for rent, as well as the regulatory and legal framework pertaining to agriculture.

The model of agritourism as a model of success in Albanian rural areas.
“Real-time information to prevent the weather effect on agriculture according to certain areas and the measures to be taken.
The portal is also accessible as an app on the Google Play platforms and in the App Store from where it can be easily downloaded onto any mobile device.
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“As part of the IPARD II program, we have supported over 137 women farmers through a budget of 24 million euros, women entrepreneurs who have built greenhouses or fruit groves, dairy farms for milk, meat, vineyards, processing units, aromatic and medical plant farms, rural tourism, agro-tourism, which today support their household economies, but also employ others in remote rural areas,” Krifca said.
Meanwhile, during this week, Minister Krifca was part of the official delegation led by Prime Minister Rama, in the meeting with Chancellor Scholz, in Berlin.

“I was pleased to hear chancellor confirm full support for Albania on the path of European integration, we talked about the summit of the Berlin Process, which will be held in Tirana and also include business forums to encourage economic cooperation between Albania and Germany. Meanwhile our ministry is working in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture of Germany on setting up a new instrument, a new institutional partnership that will be signed soon to strengthen the bilateral dialogue between our ministries, the exchange of experience in the fields of agriculture, food safety, veterinary medicine and extend this cooperation further. Meanwhile, during the visit in Berlin, I had the opportunity to see first-hand Albania’s stand at the international tourism fair in Berlin, where I was impressed by the dignified presentation of our country at this fair, given that agritourism participated for the first time as an important segment of the tourist offer, inextricably linked to the tradition, culture, and cuisine of our people,” Krifca said.

Minister Krifca announced that “we launched this week at the Technology Transfer Center of Fushë-Kruja, a dedicated counseling program targeting 20 dairy farms in the region of Kruja and Shkodra, to specifically help farmers increase their production capacity. Other than that, we have signed the guideline for applicants of the National Agricultural Support Scheme and through the Regional Agricultural Extension Agencies, Agropoints, we are taking all measures to get ready for the Agricultural Support Scheme applications this year.”
“Our entire agriculture team will be on the ground to inform farmers about successful applications during this scheme,” said Krifca.
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Roland Kristo, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, in an interview with Albanian Telegraphic Agency, stated that the wholesale seafood markets operate through auction sale. Today the sales treaties between fishing boats and businessmen are privately negotiated and controlled through the fuel scheme, as they are private ventures. While we are developing a wholesale seafood market, prices will be 100% declared and the electronic form of operation will set the real cost of seafood sale for both fishermen, traders and consumers.

“Forms of electronic trading, is the most modern way that guarantees the whole process of auction sale, whereby prices are public and all liabilities of trading entities to the state are registered and automatically calculate obligations and payments to the state,” – Kristo explained

It is a modern form widely used in EU countries, and we are currently in the process of designing a model to make sure that will not be costly for fishing boats and market players but also to formalize the sector that generates budget revenues.
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INSTAT stated that, the Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) in 2017 was 26.234 PPS, compared to 24.883 PPS in 2016.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expressed in PPS grew by 5.64%, compared with the year of 2016.

According to the official data of INSTAT,  the GDP per capita in PPS in 2017 was 30.4% of the EU average.

Meanwhile, according to statistical regions at the central/regional level , the GDP per capita in PPS in 2017 was 37.0%,respectively 24.7% and 27.2%, in the Northern and Southern region.//a.i/

Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ilir Halilaj , in an interview with ATA said that impact of financial support on the sector of agriculture and agro-processing will set the trend for increase of “Made in Albania” exports to foreign markets.

There is a broad spread of agro-industry exports from EU countries, which are the most sought-after markets due to higher prices. “Made in Albania” exports go to Russia, Middle East and North Africa,” Halili said.

Seafood products are the leading exports. Sardines, anchovies that are produced in Albania supply a good part of EU market, such as Germany, Scandinavian countries, etc. While exports from this industry include processed vegetable products as well.

As fish processing and conservation activity are increasing hand in hand with demand of foreign markets for “Made in Albania” products, the line institutions are working to increase the quotas of processed fish, particularly anchovies and sardines towards EU countries to give extra breathing room to this sector.
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