The EU document on Albania’s progress, values the economic criteria, the
preservation of the macro-economic stability, the economic growth, the
monetary policy and other positive aspects. However, the EU is concerned
about the high public debt and says that Albania should consider
returning to the legal limit of 60%.
“The EU delegation will show the increased fiscal deficit of 2011 that brought further increases of the public debt, which keeps showing a short-term tendency. The removal of the 60%debt limit is a concern as big as the 3% growth of the budget deficit. Albania is invited to return the debt limit and focus more on the implementation of the fiscal regulation program that would cause decreasing effects in the public debt”, the document says.
EU values that the Albanian economy is still facing serious problems.
“The high deficit remains a source of vulnerabilities and unemployment is still high. The weaknesses of the rule of law hamper the implementation of agreements, while the suspended issues on the property titles damage the investments and the business climate in general. The informal sector and poor collection of taxes remains a challenge. The high level of bad loans in the banking system requires a reinforced monitoring and careful measures. The delays with VAT reimbursement and the delayed payments to contractors create difficulties with the liquidity. Investments in human capital and infrastructure remain inadequate. The lack of diversification for the basic production in sectorial and export terms leave the economy vulnerable to the external hits”, the document underlines.
As for the financial assistance from the EU, despite a satisfactory cooperation in general, the effective implementation of various projects keeps being hampered by special problems.
“EU will underline that the problems with the connection in time of water and energy, and giving the sufficient budget measures for operative and maintenance spending, and the issues with the property rights, will damage the effective implementation of the projects. EU will note down the constant delays in the VAT reimbursement; the issuing of payment certificates regarding the implementation of assistance projects, and will remind Albania about its IPA obligations. These problems are a danger for the implementation of actual projects”, the document says.
EU asked a better coordination between the actors for the future financial assistance program IPA II, based on the key areas that are connected with Albania’s integration.
As regards the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, before the legal approach, EU underlines the significance of an effective implementation of the legislation, to show tangible evidence.
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