“EU4Municipalities II” Project, a Strategic Investment for Strengthening Municipalities and Accelerating Albania’s Path towards the EU

The “EU4Municipalities II” project was presented today, an important program supported by the European Union with the aim of strengthening local government in Albania and supporting the country’s European integration process.

The program is implemented by GIZ in partnership with the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe and the National Association of Municipalities. It aims to contribute to the sustainable development of local governance through investments in infrastructure, the modernization of municipal services and the strengthening of institutional capacities in service of citizens.

This program comes at an important moment for Albania, when the European integration process requires not only the advancement of reforms at the central level, but also a stronger, more active and more coordinated role of local government. In this context, “EU4Municipalities II” is regarded as an important instrument for increasing the human and institutional capacities of municipalities, as well as for strengthening their ability to access and manage European Union funds and instruments.

Prime Minister Rama also attended the presentation event, where he described the program as a strategic investment by the European Union, while stressing that the consolidation of local governance is an inseparable part of the functioning of a European Union member state.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama’s remarks: Dear Silvio, Mr. Demo, Dear Deputy Ambassador of Germany and other friends present here,

Dear friends and colleagues from the municipalities of Albania gathered here today at this meeting, which is connected to a project that does not simply embody financial support, but constitutes a strategic investment by the European Union to foster the strengthening of municipal capacities in the context of Albania’s accession to the European Union.

As the Ambassador said, this program is one that is connected to the modernization of our local institutions and to the opportunity for these institutions, through it, to enhance their human capacities, which are also our most pressing challenge of this time and of the times ahead if we do not focus all our strength today on addressing it.

By this I mean that the European Union and membership in the European family are a blessing for Albania, but on the other hand they are also a major challenge, especially at the local level, because the consolidation of local governance is an inseparable and indispensable part of the way the relationship between the European Union and a member state functions and functions properly.

A considerable part of European support for member states is connected to support at the local level, and a significant challenge for member states is having the ability to absorb European Union support through knowing how to do so, and at this point, this program is key.

The first 11 million euros are not simply important as an amount, but rather it is the entire instrument and the way it has been designed that should make all municipalities not only interested, but also fully committed to having access to this instrument.

I believe that with the support of the actors involved in this process, and especially with the support of our friends from GIZ, who have made a valuable contribution to the progress of local government in Albania, precisely because they represent a source of knowledge in addition to being financial support from the German state, but undoubtedly also with the direct engagement of the Minister of Local Government, who comes from a very successful experience as a mayor, we will be able to do our very best and draw from this potential the maximum possible benefit for all our municipalities.

And finally, I must conclude with the component which is becoming increasingly strategic in the governance of countries and which carries very significant weight in central governance, but which, for reasons that are understandable to me or perhaps for others that I may not be able to understand, remains a very weak component at the local level, and this is digitalization.

We have an unacceptable and unjustifiable gap between the weight digitalization carries at the central level and in central public services, and the weight it carries at the local level and in local services. The reasons, as I said, perhaps some I understand, others perhaps I do not, but we have spoken at length with the Minister and at the same time we will also speak with the representation of the European Union, we will speak with our German partners and with others. Although, excuse me for saying this, German partners in digitalization are behind us. Yes, ministries in Germany still work with fax machines. Do you know this or not? And we will find, beyond the joke, which in this case is much more than half the truth, a way to address this problem of digitalization and, addressing the mayors here directly, I tell you: do your very best to use this project not as a funding opportunity, but precisely as an opportunity to create experience, to strengthen human capital, to prepare even better within the municipalities those small units that you have begun to establish in service of projects and financing from the European Union. In this respect, this project is irreplaceable.

Thank you very much for coming all the way here!

Thank you very much for your attention and I join Mr. Demo in thanking all those whom he listed with great attention, but also with great wisdom, because they will not forget that long list of thanks and he will keep the door open to ask for more projects.

Thank you very much!