VIDEO / No agreement in the EU on closing “Chapter 20”? Ibrahimaj: We have fulfilled our obligations!

The Minister of Economy and Innovation, Delina Ibrahimaj, has commented on developments regarding the negotiations for the provisional closure of Chapter 20 with the European Union, as well as the situation with the IPARD funds.

After the government meeting ended, Ibrahimaj was asked whether the executive was aware of the discussions held in the COELA working group, where EU member states continue to discuss the position towards Albania.

The minister said that COELA meetings are held behind closed doors, while expressing optimism that Chapter 20, for which Albania has, according to her, fulfilled all obligations, will be closed soon.

“COELA meetings are meetings behind closed doors. We are hopeful that Chapter 20, on which there is still no agreement in the EU regarding Albania, will be closed very soon. Our hope is that it will be closed very soon,” Ibrahimaj said.

The minister also spoke about the IPARD funds, stating that Albania is in the final stages of the procedures for re-accreditation, which will pave the way for the return of the funds for the agriculture sector.

According to Ibrahimaj, the process has been long and has required the preparation of the necessary documentation, but is now in its final stages.

“We expect the finalisation of the procedures for re-accreditation for the granting of the IPARD fund. It is certainly a procedure that has been prolonged. We have had documentation to submit, but it is in its final stages. We expect the funds to open very soon,” the minister said.

She described IPARD as a fund of particular importance for the development of agriculture in the country, emphasising that the problems that have hindered the funds have not affected Albania alone.

“It is a very important fund, which affects the whole development of agriculture. Albania has not been the only country that has had problems with IPARD, and they have now been resolved,” Ibrahimaj said.

As a reminder, no agreement was reached among the member states of the European Union on the provisional closure of Chapter 20 of the negotiations with Albania, despite the discussions held yesterday in the COELA working group.

The issue will return to the COELA table today as well, where representatives of the member states will continue discussions on the EU’s common position towards Albania.

Chapter 20 relates to “Enterprise and Industrial Policy” and is part of Cluster 3, “Competitiveness and inclusive growth”. EU Council documents confirm that a compromise proposal from the Council presidency has been presented for this chapter, while the issue is still under consideration in COELA.

Albania aims for the provisional closure of Chapter 20, while an intergovernmental conference on October 13 has been reported earlier as an expected scenario. However, passing the issue to this stage depends on the completion of the discussions and reaching agreement among the member states.