Balla: Within June, we will complete the full opening of all chapters of the EU membership agreement

2025-06-02 11:46:00, Politikë CNA

Balla: Within June, we will complete the full opening of all chapters of the EU

The Minister of State for Relations with Parliament, Taulant Balla, presented today to the Foreign Policy Committee the Agreement with the European Commission on supporting the digital economy and society.

Balla described this agreement as a "political and strategic act" that accelerates the country's integration into the European Union.

During his speech, Balla emphasized that Albania will close all chapters by June.

"This agreement comes at an important moment in Albania's path to membership in the European Union, as we have entered the month of June. Within this month, we expect to complete the full opening of all chapters of the agreement for Albania's membership in the European Union. Meanwhile, with the opening of all chapters, we are also getting ready to close some of them, aiming, as we have expressed, to close all chapters by Christmas 2027."

According to the minister, this agreement comes at an important moment for the country's European agenda and is part of the support package under the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. In this framework, Albania has access to a significant amount of financial support, but with a clear condition: the fulfillment of the reforms agreed with the EU.

"Albania has a golden opportunity to benefit from financial support of up to 922 million euros (loans and grants), including 27 million euros of direct budget support, if we timely implement the reforms agreed with the EU, including this agreement," he stressed.

The program includes a total funding of 44 million euros, of which 30 million euros are a grant from the European Commission and 14 million euros are co-financing from the Albanian state budget. The cooperation ratio is 68% European funding and 32% national.

The Minister announced that investments will focus on five main areas:

Digital education, which aims to equip 5,500 high school teachers with laptops for the effective use of the Pre-university Information Management System (SMIP), as well as reviewing the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum.

Digital health, through the establishment of the Radiology Information System and the Electronic Health Record (e-HR), which will enable the storage and integrated access to patient health data at the national level.

Cybersecurity, where AKSHI will be supported for the purchase of advanced software such as "Threat Intelligence", monitoring of the "dark web" and setting up a new server room to strengthen defense capacities.

Tax administration, with the aim of aligning with EU systems for automatic data exchange and increasing fiscal efficiency.

Digital connectivity, through investments in very high capacity networks (VHCN) and 5G technology, in line with the objectives of the Digital Agenda of Albania 2022–2026 and the national development strategy.

Minister Balla concluded his speech by describing the draft law not only as a legal instrument, but also as a key link in advancing the country's EU membership process. He called for the swift approval of the agreement, which is among the obligations that must be concluded within June. / CNA