“From 2027, Albania will be part of the Social Cohesion program of the European Union, and in the coming weeks, Albania is expected to open negotiations for integration chapters with 70% of European laws implemented at the local level,” writes Mazniku.

The minister called on the municipalities to prepare to benefit from the various EU funds, empowering EU project offices and aiming to improve life in Albanian cities. He emphasized the importance of involving local actors and holding public consultations to meet this objective.

“Despite the day-to-day work, municipalities must work to the best of their ability to benefit as much funding as possible from the various EU programs by empowering their EU project offices in order to fundamentally change the life of our cities and to strengthen the local government”, said Mazniku.
“Of course, to achieve this, it is needed the involvement of all local actors and public consultations with stakeholders and a responsible and capable local staff. For this, we are working with AMVV in training the staff through the Academy of local government, to make the process easier and more effective”, said Mazniku.

Mazniku also appreciated the recent conference with the mayors, organized in partnership with the “Hans Seidel Stiftung” Foundation, as a positive step towards a strong local government capable of rising up to the challenges of European integration.
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