BRUSSELS – The European Union will organise an international donors’ conference on 17 February in Brussels to support the reconstruction efforts in Albania after the earthquake that struck the country at the end of November, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced today.
“The EU is happy to announce that the donors’ conference for Albania will be on the 17 February. It’s a donors’ conference following the horrible earthquake in Albania. We want to help Albania in its reconstruction”, President von der Leyen said during the press conference at the end of the College of Commissioners meeting in Zagreb to mark the start of the Croatian Presidency of the EU.
The EU places high priority on the reconstruction and recovery of Albania and will help to coordinate an international response and to gather necessary financial support to assist in the long term efforts that will be needed for this. The aim is also to help strengthen the capacity of Albania to prepare and handle disaster response, European Commission stated in a press release.
The Commission announced an initial €15 million grant for reconstruction of priority public buildings at its first meeting in December. A post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) has been launched in mid-December 2019 by the EU, the United Nations and the World Bank and will be finalised ahead of the Conference. The PDNA is necessary for the organisation of the Donors’ Conference and it will serve as a basis for the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.