Today, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Petrit Malaj, attended the conference organized by the Bank of Albania and the Albanian Association of Banks on the role of the banking system on the road to EU integration.
In his speech, Minister Malaj underlined the need for coordinated and standardized institutional cooperation in the EU integration process. In cooperation with the Bank of Albania, international partners, and financial supervisory organizations, the Ministry of Finance has made remarkable progress in this area.
“We are focusing on the development of joint capacities to improve the monitoring and reporting of fiscal policies in order to ensure uniform standards and approaches in meeting the criteria required by the European Union,” said Mr. Malaj.
The Minister added that the path to European integration requires coordination of fiscal and monetary policies to ensure that the country’s development trends remain favorable and in line with financial developments.
Minister Malaj emphasized that promoting the use of electronic payments to improve services and expand access to finance for Albanian consumers depends largely on digital transformation. Mr. Malaj claimed that such measures will further formalize the country’s economy and reduce the use of cash.
Minister Malaj’s speech:
Dear Governor,
Dear Ms. Dhuka,
Dear Mr. Shalsi,
Dear participants,
It is a special pleasure for me to participate in this conference, where the central theme is integration into the European Union.
Albania has already embarked on an irreversible path toward the opening of negotiations and the discussion of the “fundamental” chapters.
The European Commission’s recent progress report outlined our nation’s achievements, particularly in creating a functioning market economy and maintaining macroeconomic stability.
In terms of economic performance, we have continued to drastically reduce the national debt and the unemployment rate, which is now at its lowest level, while significantly increasing economic growth, raising revenues, and attracting more foreign direct investment.
This year, we hope to approve the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy 2024-2027, which focuses on updating certain fiscal policies in accordance with EU directives and related legislation.
Harmonization of fiscal and monetary policies is necessary on the road to European integration in order to ensure that the country’s development patterns are constructive and financially viable.
In this regard, I applaud the efforts of the Bank of Albania, which has fulfilled its regulatory and supervisory responsibilities in an efficient and responsible manner. Sustainable growth and the promotion of best practices in banking are facilitated by the banking sector itself as a key actor and by the Albanian Bankers Association as an effective coordinating and promotional instrument.
Dear participants,
As a result of European integration, we have a number of challenges that we must meet with excellence. We have interconnected points of inter-institutional interaction. In the context of digital transformation, we should all work to promote the use of electronic payments, which, combined with better services, would significantly expand Albanian consumers’ access to finance.
These steps would further formalize the country’s economy and reduce cash transactions.
Coordinated and standardized institutional cooperation is another requirement of the EU integration process. The Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the Bank of Albania, international partners, and financial supervisory organizations, has taken important measures to achieve this goal.
In order to ensure uniform standards and methodologies to meet the requirements set by the European Union, we are also focusing on building cooperative capacities to improve the monitoring and reporting of fiscal policies.
Together with the Bank of Albania, which is co-hosting this conference, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Albanian Association of Banks on its 25th anniversary and wish it continued success in its endeavors.
Thank you very much!