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The project "Municipalities for Europe" continues the series of meetings that are taking place in all 61 municipalities of Albania, for the presentation of the Performance Evaluation Report. 

The next stop was at the Municipality of Divjaka, at a meeting where the main focus was Agriculture and Rural Development, due to the characteristics of the area covered by this municipality.

In this meeting coordinated by Mrs. Jolanda Trebicka, Leader of the Project "Municipalities for Europe", were also present Mr. Razvan Ghitescu, Program Officer for the Agricultural Sector at the EU Delegation in Tirana, Mr. Bekim Murati, General Director of AMVV, experts of the field and the staff of Divjaka Municipality.

Mr. Razvan Ghitescu, Program Officer for the Agricultural Sector at the EU Delegation in Tirana, emphasized how important EU support up has been and continues to be for Albania. "I am very pleased to be here today, for three reasons," he expressed. "First, I was an Adviser for European Integration in the Romanian Ministry of Agriculture, in the period before my country joined the EU. Secondly, I have worked in the agricultural sector, which is the topic of today's meeting and which means that throughout my career I have worked in capacity building and with the approximation of legislation in the pre-accession period. And thirdly, I am very interested in local governance, which I consider an essential element for the successful development of agriculture and the rural areas”.

Further on, Mr. Ghitescu stated that “The European Union is focused on supporting the “Municipalities for Europe" project and the integration units in all municipalities, because we consider this a team work, where different actors participate and fulfill various tasks. "Municipalities, the integration units, the project team and the staff of the EU delegation all work together for the same goal."

Bekim Murati, Director of the Agency for Support of Local Self-Government, stated that “The Third Performance Evaluation Report comes with a more positive approach and some promising achievements of the local government. I think this result is dedicated to the stronger commitment of municipalities, mayors, agencies and state institutions. We as AMVV have clearly stated to the mayors that we will insist on a further consolidation of the integration structures. The European Integration Units are there to inform the citizens about the EU projects, but also about the obligations that the Albanian state has within the Integration process. Although at the beginning there were questions about these structures, or their functioning, we can say that today they have a consolidated physiognomy and such a thing is very well reflected in the 2019 Report ", said Mr. Murati, who, referring specifically to Divjaka, said that “we have positive developments regarding agriculture, tourism and resources that should be used. "Such an approach should serve as an example for the other municipalities," he concluded.

Drejtuesja e Projektit, Znj. Jolanda Trebicka ka përcjellë mesazhet për konsolidimin e strukturave të integrimit, dhe mbi të gjitha, siç tha ajo “vlerësimin dhe ruajtjen e atyre kapaciteteve ekzistuese, të ndërtuara tashmë falë trainimeve dhe punës që është bërë në vitet e fundit nga ana e projektit”.

The project manager, Mrs. Jolanda Trebicka conveyed messages for the consolidation of the integration structures, and above all, as she expressed ‘the evaluation and preservation of those existing capacities, already built thanks to the trainings and the work done in recent years by the project".