EU: Albania not obliged for waste import

The European Commission argues that Albania needed a waste management law, but as for the clause that allows waste import, the Commission underlines that the EU cannot oblige anyone to import anything.

The Spokesperson of the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Peter Stano, declared during an interview for Top Channel that the waste management law was really necessary, but EU has not dictated any specific condition or clause, especially for the waste import.

“As you know, this law was for adapting the Albanian legislation with the European one. We must keep in mind that the EU cannot encourage or oblige anyone to import waste materials. We do not set the rules on what you must import and how you import it. The European norms and rules have a strict procedure for the waste management in general, but in this case, it is up to the country to decide what they will import and how. The EU cannot interfere, but what we can say is that it is important to have such a law”, the Spokesperson declared.

Top Channel: A law on waste management?

Peter Stano: Yes, the law for waste management. There are several dispositions for the import, but as I said, we do not encourage or oblige anyone to import anything, because this depends only on the Albanian authorities. It is up to them to decide on what conditions will they import, and what possibilities are there to import wastes. We want to underline that you must guarantee an efficient law implementation, and for the waste import, you must understand that you need to have the capacities to control what materials the country will import, especially in customs or the environment authority.

Although the law was approved with simple majority, the Commission says that during the membership process, Albania will be required to hold wide consultations and constructive debates for the EU related laws.

“The law was approved by the necessary majority, in full accordance with Albania’s procedures. However, we underline that not only for this law, but during the entire membership process, the EU related laws should be subject to a wider national dialogue between all interested parties and whoever that is concerned or involved in this. It is very important to have such a national dialogue, because these matters belong to all people. They affect the life of any individual, and we encourage a constructive dialogue from all political forces. For this I can say that any partial position or irritating declaration will not create a favorable environment, the space or the conditions needed for a constructive dialogue between the government and the opposition”, Stano declared.

Asked if the rejection of this clause of the law by the Albanian President and the opposition is against the Stabilization Association Agreement, the Spokesperson said “no”, and added that Albania had no deadline for approving this law.

“No. The President has its constitutional right to return the law, and the opposition has the right to oppose it. The only important thing is to have a proper discussion for respecting the rule of law, which is key to any Stabilization and Association Agreement. The SAA has not set a deadline on the waste management law. The SAA only says that the Albanian law should gradually adapt to the European law, and that’s all”, Stano declared.

Prepared by: Arta Tozaj

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