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EITI Albania helps clear backlog of transfers to local government  

EITI Albania helps clear backlog of transfers to local government  

Board assesses the country as having achieved “meaningful progress”

13 February 2018 – The EITI Board today decided that Albania has made meaningful progress in implementing the EITI Standard. The Board congratulates the Government of Albania and Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) on the progress made 'in improving transparency and accountability in the extractive industries by using the process to address local concerns, both through active dissemination and outreach efforts and by expanding the scope of EITI reporting to the hydro-power sector'. EITI reporting of delayed subnational mining revenue transfers led to legal reform and gradual clearing of arrears in transfers to local governments, enabling greater benefits for the local communities.

Fredrik Reinfeldt, Chair of the EITI, said:

“The EITI has achieved a lot in Albania. I hope that further progress can help the government’s efforts to accede to the European Union. The Board encourages improvements in the disclosures of transactions related to state-owned enterprises in order to address existing transparency gaps”.

Ardit Kamberi, EITI National Coordinator stated that implementation of the EITI Standard has led to considerable improvements for Albania, such as in government systems, tax collection and budget planning. He noted that politically transparent and open government increases citizens' confidence and trust and that the government will continue to entrench the EITI deeper into its systems.

The Board commended Albania’s efforts to go beyond the requirements of the EITI Standard by expanding its scope to hydropower. The Board also took note of the government’s efforts to increase beneficial ownership transparency by including mandatory beneficial ownership reporting for all oil, gas and mining companies in the draft Law on Transparency in the Extractive Industries. The Board encouraged the government to establish a transparency and accountability framework for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project. The Board also made a series of recommendations to strengthen transparency, notably by ensuring more public access to information on the state enterprises and their transactions, tax and distribution of revenues at local levels as well as increasing an active and effective civil society engagement in the EITI process.

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