National reports

The recently signed Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union confirmed the good progress of transition reforms in Albania. Substantially increasing social spending, linking social spending to the desired social impacts, and rationalizing the related internal and external financial resources in order to achieve tangible social justice results represent some of the new challenges in the Albanian integration process.

There is going to be more investment in health and education thanks to a new social reactivation fund, but valuable resources have been lost due to difficulties in implementing the scheme, and there are no long term programmes. The Government ought to provide the services that are a constitutional right for the population, seek alternatives to over-dependence on oil, and take measures to counter the negative impact that oil exploitation is having on the environment and on local and indigenous communities.