TIRANA – The IPA Monitoring Committee met in Tirana on Tuesday to discuss progress in the implementation of EU funding to Albania.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ditmir Bushati, and Michela Matuella, Head of Unit for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Directorate General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission.
The meeting reviewed progress and discussed a strategic approach on the way forward in supporting the key reforms we are undertaking in this decisive phase of preparation for EU membership.
The EU, which is the biggest donor to Albania, reconfirmed its commitment to support Albania in the reforms’ implementation, focusing on governance, justice and rule of law, connectivity, competitiveness and socio-economic development. The EU underlined the need to ensure monitoring and coordination of reforms, consistency between strategies and budget allocations as well as close coordination with the entire donors’ community in the country. The importance of EU regional programmes was emphasized also in view of the six flagship initiatives of the recent Commission Communication on the Western Balkans.
Representatives of EU Member States and civil society and members of the National Council for Civil Society attended as observers.