Minister Pirdeni Highlights the Shift of the Public Procurement System Toward European Standards

During the event “30 Years of Public Procurement — Albania, a Regional Leader in Modernizing Procurement Systems” which was held in conjunction with Integrity Week, Adea Pirdeni, the Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, stated that the country’s public procurement system has evolved from a technical, bureaucratic, and easily manipulated mechanism into a new approach to managing public funds. She said the transformation is driven by technology, transparency, and alignment with European standards. This will create a system that no longer depends on individuals, but rather on automated risk assessment mechanisms.
Pirdeni announced that a tripartite collaboration has been underway for the past year between the Ministry of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, the Public Procurement Agency, and Italy’s National Anti-Corruption Authority. The collaboration is aimed at developing a dedicated risk assessment process for public procurement. This collaboration extends beyond digitalization and automation, aiming to align legislation, strengthen risk analysis, and bolster integrity in vulnerable sectors.
The minister stated that the sectoral approach to risk assessment originated in tax and customs administrations and is now expanding to the healthcare sector. This week, in cooperation with Swiss partners and the Basel Institute on Governance, one of Europe’s most prestigious anti-corruption analysis institutions, the risk assessment for the healthcare system will be presented.
She recalled that, two weeks ago, the eight-month corruption risk assessment of the State Cadastre Agency was finalized with the help of the European Union. The analysis identified corruption red flags and the necessary measures, with a focus on transparency and combating abuses in the property sector.
Pirdeni added that Albania is advancing toward full compliance with EU standards on public procurement. She stated that Chapter 5 of the accession negotiations, which concerns this area, is expected to be among the first to close, ensuring a clear standard in which every public expenditure is protected, every procedure is traceable, and every decision measurable.
In this transformation, the Minister emphasized the importance of human capacities. Over the past two years, the Public Procurement Agency and the Albanian School of Public Administration have trained 2,400 public officials across 21 procurement modules, while 400 of them have been certified as specialists in the field. According to Pirdeni, this strengthens legal certainty for participants in procurement procedures as well as for the officials who lead these processes, giving them greater guarantees, professionalism, and confidence in their role in managing public funds.