Albania Land Use Policy II |
| The EU and the Republic of Albania
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| Albania has made considerable progress since 1999. Economic decline has been reversed and in 2000 GDP grew by 7.8%, in line with growth rates reported for 1999 (+8.0%) and 1998 (+7.3%). Important progress has been made in securing government revenue through reform of the customs and tax services, Albania's trade regime has been modernised and liberalised and Albania became a WTO member in September 2000. Privatisation of small and medium enterprises can now be considered as completed and, with some delay, privatisation of larger companies is also progressing. From 1991-2000 the EU provided € 1021 million in total to Albania, of which an important part took the form of balance of payment support or specific budgetary assistance linked to sectorial reforms (agriculture, public administration) or to refugee related costs during the 1999 Kosovo crisis. In humanitarian assistance alone, the EU's Humanitarian Aid Office has provided around € 140 million. Sectorial programmes amount to € 404 million. The agriculture sector has undergone a radical reform process in the past years, focused on land distribution and market liberalisation. Much progress has been achieved in this sector, but major challenges remain like the enforcement of the new legal framework and the development of marketing services in order to promote exports and fully use opportunities provided by the new EU trade preferences. The EU provides support for land mapping, fishery sector, veterinary control, and policy advice.
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