SP: Nepotism in diplomatic services

After listing 16 meetings with the EU homologues for this matter, the Minister faced the accusations launched by the opposition about nepotism in diplomatic duties.

The Chairman of the Commission, Ditmir Bushati, declared that “all people who have been illegally paid for diplomatic services must return the money to the Albanian tax payers, especially in this period of crisis”.

Socialist MP Taulant Balla declared that the opposition will vote the qualified majority laws by the end of March, and that the new Law for Diplomatic Services cannot be approved in Parliament.

“I have here the list of the Foreign Ministry’s nepotism connections. You said that you would legalize the illegal constructions in diplomacy through a law, but that law cannot pass in Parliament, because 17 MPs have conflict of interest. Please, Mr. Minister, show us the criteria on which was accepted in diplomatic services the groom of the Parliament Speaker, Jozefina Topalli, and I would vote any draft-law that you could bring for legalizing these illegal constructions in diplomacy. The first article of this law is that no MP, Minister, Parliament Speaker or Prime Minister, should have their family members in diplomatic services”, Balla declared.

The Democratic MP, Rajmonda Bulku, defended the Foreign Minister’s work and the assignments which the opposition is accusing for nepotism.

The concerns of the opposition members received an answer by Minister Haxhinasto, who considered their debates as outdated and non coherent.

“Your concept for reforms is focused on some specific names, with or without connections with some given representatives. They have all the rights, based on their education and integrity, to work in the foreign services. It is not true that the Danish representative has said ‘Brussels was shocked’. Read the declaration carefully. He is the representative of the Danish EU presidency, will speak about that, but he cannot comment the decisions of the independent Albanian institutions”, Haxhinasto declared.

While this hearing session focused on the diplomatic service assignments, Haxhinasto spoke about the integration agenda, regardless the problematic which the EU is facing.

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