Spahia warned that Albania’s unique new healthcare model lacks EU equivalents and threatens the country’s integration process. He criticized the lack of public consultation and accused the government of creating a new operator to protect corrupt concession contracts, block competition and preserve political clientelism.

Spahia criticized four healthcare concession contracts since 2015. He said they cost Albanians 45.5 billion lekë (over 500 million euros) with little improvement to real care. He called the deals opaque and unlawful and promised the opposition will fight corruption and demand public accountability.

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A total of 71 health institutions were accredited, including 66 primary healthcare centres, four municipal hospitals and one regional hospital, the Operator said.

The accreditation process serves as a key mechanism to ensure transparency and improve institutional performance, encouraging the adoption of best practices in healthcare delivery, according to the Operator.

Authorities described the 2025 accreditation round as an important step towards strengthening the public healthcare system, boosting public trust and ensuring safer, higher-quality and more accessible services for patients.

The operator said the accreditation process would continue in the coming years as part of broader efforts to raise standards and improve healthcare services in Albania.

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Jaupaj said that the model of the National Waste Treatment Operator is not an experiment, but a model that is in several EU countries.

According to him, this model is expected to be introduced in the field of waste management under this draft law, as we are dealing with a critical infrastructure that needs better management.

Minister Jaupaj said that today, “As a matter of fact, in Albania there are 7 regional waste treatment plants, each of which has a different management model”.

Jaupaj noted that the draft law “On integrated waste management” reflects the highest EU standards in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 27 on the environment and climate change.

The environmental chapter is one of the most important chapters within the integration process, whose obligations are determined by Article 70 of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, which provides for the necessity of domestic legislation with European legislation.

Jaupaj stated that in some regions of the country, there has been built and put into operation several modern landfills, designed according to EU directives on environmental safety.

“At the same time, there have been built new waste treatment plants. These investments are not only infrastructural, but evidence of a commitment to a cleaner, greener and more dignified Albania. Another important step is the development of composting and recycling plants,” said Jaupaj. /k.s/j.p/p.s./

Prime Minister Edi Rama and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku were present at the presentation of the water operator.

The establishment of this operator is part of the reform in the water sector.

“Today, we will share with the public an important step that we will take soon regarding the establishment of the national water distribution operator. We have had a very dramatic experience in the water sector, which is a sector that naturally requires large investments and responsible administration,” said Rama.

The prime minister said that the central government has made major investments in the water sector while administration accountability has improved.

“But, we are now convinced, while appreciating the progress of a reform that was undertaken a few years ago for the government’s involvement in the actions of water supply companies, that we finally have no reason to waste any more time and believe in a solution that, for the sake of truth, was suggested to us many years ago, by some experts and after the experiences that we have analyzed in successful countries”, Rama added.

According to him, “The fragmentation into 58 companies of the water distribution systemin in the name of decentralization was a real catastrophe”.

“The high debts, the incompetence in management, also closely related to the human resources in this company, as well as the lack of expertise that accompanied it with a lack of investment in maintenance, brought about a very unjustifiable situation”, Rama said. /r.e//a.f/p.s./

During a meeting held in Tirana to present the second phase of the reform in the Water Supply and Sewerage sector, launched in 2021 with the aggregation of companies, where Prime Minister Edi Rama was also present, Balluku said that the functioning of this operator will be carried out in the same way like the electricity sector.

“Today, the aggregation reform has yielded results and we call the first phase of the reform complete.

It is high time to continue with the second phase of the reform which consists of establishment of the National Water Production Operator. We have a very good example, which is the electricity sector. That sector was in the same situation in 2013, with losses reaching up to 50%. We often called them technical losses, but it was not just about losses, but about theft of electricity, a depreciated network, service that was not provided, estimated bills, etc.,” said Balluku.

Taking the example of the electricity sector and considering the progress that this sector has made, not only with the major action for legality in 2015, but also for the profound change that it underwent in 2019 with the separation of companies, as a request of the EU, Balluku added that at present-day, the energy sector has a clear scheme for the functioning of companies that provide vital services to citizens.

“The establishment of the National Water Production Operator would take us to another level, as the problem must be tackled from the core”, she said.

“In the second phase, we will focus only on the separation into two components, production and distribution. The third phase, which starts on January 1, 2027, includes the separation of the distributor with the establishment of a distribution company and a supplier company “, she stated. /r.e//a.f/p.s./

This agency will be established within the framework of the new integrated waste management package.

In the presentation of the Integrated Waste Management Reform, Rama stated that the establishment of this operator is foreseen in the new draft law on integrated waste management.

“It will be a new agency, institution, enterprise, which will be at the disposal of the entire Republic, the local government, the citizens and this mission for Albania’s membership in the European Union”, said Rama.

According to him, the entire waste management process will be concentrated in this operator.

“Waste collection and treatment will no longer be a process administered by municipalities, but will be a process administered by this national operator in cooperation with all other government links and in relation to which the municipalities will be clients in the same way as they are clients of other operators for other services”, emphasized Rama.

Rama requested that everyone without exception at all levels and throughout the territory who have a public function as elected officials or civil servants of this state related to all environmental issues, should be aware that this is the most challenging chapter of the negotiations and this is the most challenging aspect of our membership in the EU.

“I say with regret that on the one hand we notice a further improvement in all cleaning processes, but on the other hand there is not any more significant awareness on the part of citizens in relation to keeping the territory clean or in waste treatment”, added the prime minister. /j.p/p.s./