| dc.description.abstract | As a potential candidate country, Albania benefits from the first two components of IPA, including Component I for Transition Assistance and Institution Building and Component II for Cross-Border Cooperation. The indicative allocations to Albania under the Multi-annual Indicative Financial Framework (MIFF) for 2009-2011 amount to EUR 269.4 million. Assistance will be in line with the recommendations of the 2008 Enlargement Strategy and Progress Report, the European Partnership priorities and will address the requirements under the SAA. In the area of democracy and rule of law, the capacity of the Albanian institutions remains to a large extent limited, in particular as regards the judiciary, the implementation of public administration reform and the fight against corruption and organised crime. In addition, the implementation of the SAA, which has started after the final ratification on 1 April 2009, will require strong administrative capacities in almost all acquis related areas to meet the requirements identified in the SAA. Structural reforms are not yet fully implemented and more efforts are still needed in the economic area to improve the business environment. Therefore, EC assistance to Albania in the forthcoming three year period, will address key issues such as public administration reform and rule of law enforcement, in particular as regards good governance and anti-corruption measures. This emphasis is reflected in a further increase of funds allocated to the area of political requirements. Strengthening administrative capacity with a view to the implementation of the SAA is given a high priority, to support the Albanian authorities in fulfilling the requirements of the SAA. There is a need to further support structural reforms in the country and to invest in related infrastructure, in particular in the area of regional development and acquis related infrastructure. |
