Albanian agri ministry calls for non-politicisation of EU funds ‘interruption’

The European Commission has ‘interrupted’ payments to the Albanian authorities under the IPARD II agricultural scheme pending the conclusion of an investigation by the anti-fraud office, OLAF, while the Agriculture Ministry said it is part of an administrative process and asked the programme not be politicised.

The IPARD II programme is pre-accession assistance for rural development programmes designed to support rural and agri-food reforms in countries that are joining the EU. Albania benefitted to the tune of €71 million between 2014 and 2020, with IPARD III launched in 2021 with €112 million earmarked for the country.

But this week, Albanian media reported that funds had been suspended over suspicions of an ongoing investigation into corruption involving the use and disbursement of EU funds.

A European Commission spokesperson told EURACTIV that they have “taken precautionary measures based on the preliminary information provided by OLAF.”

They continued that in terms of funding, “as a preventative measure to protect the financial interests of the European Union, the European Commission has provisionally interrupted the reimbursements to the Albanian authorities for expenditure incurred under the IPARD II programme.”

The spokesperson added that the executive cannot comment on any possible OLAF findings regarding the 2014-2020 project but that when the final report is submitted,” the European Commission will inform the Albanian authorities accordingly.”

Based on the report’s findings, they added that the Commission “will take any further measures needed to protect the financial interests of the European Union.

OLAF did not respond to questions from EURACTIV at the time of publication.

The Ministry of Agriculture posted a lengthy statement on its official website about the “several media publications” that ran stories about the situation.

The statement reads that the support programme has not been interrupted and that the programme and the work continue.

Instead, it writes that they have been “informed of a suspension of the current reimbursement invoice from DG AGRI for part of the next expenses,” adding that this is “a completely administrative process that allows the verification of control systems by accredited structures which will take the necessary measures to continue the normal reimbursement from the EU.”

It insists these are normal EU processes and procedures where there is a “need to verify expenses suspected of activity not conforming to the established rules.”

The ministry said it is in continuous cooperation with OLAF and DG AGRI, providing “full transparency as they have been doing since the first day of accreditation”.

As for the project itself, the statement clarifies that IPARD II has facilitated 85 collection points, 40 agro-food processing factories, 130 investments in agricultural mechanics and increased planting areas, more than 50 investments in agritourism, 30-plus investments in stable and livestock farms, some 40 investments in vineyards and wineries, 85 greenhouse investments and more than 5000 new jobs.

This, the ministry said, shows that the IPARD programme is a “cornerstone for the development of Albanian agriculture, the results of which have been felt by the sector’s development, which is reflected today in important positive performance indicators.”

It adds that this result has only been possible due to “extraordinary joint work with farmers and agro-processors as well as the employees of the structures in Albania and Brussels.”

Because of the importance of the project and its tangible outcomes, the ministry statement adds the programme should not become “an object of political consumption.”

In a recent interview with EURACTIV, Agriculture Minister Frida Krifca said that efforts to align with EU legislation as a “complex process” involving the integration of EU legislation into Albanian law, but even more, the reform of institutions.

“In the case of agriculture, the membership process will be preceded by an effort by the agricultural sector to align with EU standards, and this journey […] is even more important than the funds that Albanian agriculture will benefit from at the moment of membership.”

(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)