On tonight’s “Rinvote”, Euronews Albania’s weekly show where two MP candidates are placed in the hot seat by two young graduates, Plarent Ndreca from the Socialist Party and Ervin Salianji from the Democratic Party will answer questions over the country’s integration into the European Union.
Plarent Ndreca is a candidate from the Socialist Party for the district of Tirana and has previously held the position of General Secretary at the Ministry of Interior.
Ervin Salianji is a candidate from the Democratic Party racing for the district of Korça.
The MPs will answer the questions posed and unveil their party’s political platform.
Mariana Koçeku asked SP’s candidate Plarent Ndreca why the Socialists had not included EU integration on their party’s platform and over delays on the approximation with EU legislation.
Ndreca dodged the answer over the platform but mainly underlined the launch of accession talks.
“In 2014 we received the candidate country status and in March 2020, I am assuming you are informed, accession talks were launched”, Ndrecaj said.
Ndreca referred to his objective to represent the district of Tirana as the “highest level of exercising public responsibility”.
According to Marjana Koçeku political parties are lacking “strong platforms” and are not “bringing anything new on the table” compared to previous campaigns.
But Salianji dismissed her claim and said that the Democrats have brought a “concrete program in several areas”.
“A large part of the youth does not expect attacks or electoral denigrations, but they expect problems to be spoken, accepted, and solved. Edi Rama has been celebrating the opening of accession talks for the past seven years, but negotiations didn’t launch. The prime minister has direct responsibility for citizens. The DP has a concrete program, from the economy to opening new workplaces and we’ve proposed paid internships to gain experience”, he said.
He also said that if the Democrats win the elections, they will fulfill the criteria to hold the first Intergovernmental Conference within two months.
Ergisa Bejkollari raised the concern over the brain drain that Albania has been experiencing in the last years. She related this “wound” of society with the inability to attract funds from the European Union.
Referring to several reports, Ergisa said that Albania ranks fourth in Europe in terms of brain drain and migration of high-skilled workers and asked the Socialist candidate how is the party planning to solve this problem as well as attract more EU funds.
According to Ndrecaj, these two issues are not interconnected, adding that there is no “leaking of high-skilled workers” from the ranks of state institutions.
Regarding the attraction of EU funds, the Socialist candidate running in the capital underlined that there is a special unit at the Ministry of Finances.
But Bejkollari insisted that according to a report published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the absorption of EU funds is at 7.1% level, measured from 2019-2020., while another separate study from 2007-2013 showed that the absorption was as 28% ranking Albania last in the region.
