On April 12, 2022, the project “EU for Municipalities” organized the The Networking Meeting between Municipal EU units from Albania and South-East Europe with the theme “Preparing for the Future”.
This event of exchange of knowledge and experiences, brought together the European Integration Units from the Municipalities of Albania and Southeast Europe, and representatives of the Associations of Municipalities of Southeast Europe, members of NALAS.
The focus of the meeting was the exchange of good practices for strengthening the capacity of municipal officials in EU integration and preparation for future membership, including the absorption and management of EU financial support.
In her opening remarks, the head of the Sector for Good Governance, Justice and Law Enforcement in the EU Delegation to Albania, Mrs. Lenka Vitkova said that municipalities have an important role in the process of integration of the country into the EU as 70% of the legislation is implemented at the local level.
“EU municipal units are the backbone of the EU infrastructure in Albania, from the bottom up, and that is why they deserve support. The EU in Albania is supporting local government with both technical assistance and grants. In this way, the municipalities strengthen their skills for project management, but also benefit from financial support and respond to local needs “- said Vitkova, among others.
The event was also greeted by the Deputy Mayor of Tirana, Mrs. Keti Luarasi; the General Director, Agency for the Support of Local Self-Government, Mr. Enea Hoti; NALAS Executive Director, Mr. Kelmend Zajazi; the Executive Director of the Albanian Association of Local Autonomy, Mrs. Adelina Farrici, Autonomy; and Mr. Agron Haxhimali, Director of Association of Albanian Municipalities.
On the first day of this meeting, four thematic panels were held: Albanian Municipalities and the EU integration; The role of municipal EU units: building capacities and preparing for the future accession; The organisation of Networks of Municipal EU Officers in South-East; A systemic approach to pre-financing and co-financing of EU funded projects.
The activity was concluded by Mr. Orlando Fusco, Program Manager, EU Delegation to Albania, who underlined that “Albania has made great progress in terms of anchoring municipalities in the EU integration process. However, additional efforts are needed when it comes to creating opportunities for local governments to have an effective access to EU financial assistance”.
Further, Mr. Fusco encouraged the continuation of exchanges between colleagues, emphasizing that “the added value of this initiative is that NALAS as a regional organization, brings experience from other countries and helps develop capacity through regional exchanges.”
The meeting was organized by NALAS, the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South East Europe, as coordinator of the project “EU for Municipalities”, in partnership with the project “Municipalities for Europe (MfE) 2.0”, Albanian Association of Local Autonomy and Association of Albanian Municipalities.
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