Albania May Apply for European Union Membership Within 10 Years

Tirana, May 9, 2008. The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Ardian Fullani, participated this week in the First UK Albania Investment Forum. In an interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Fullani declared that Albania might apply to join the European Union within a decade as foreign investment boosts growth and the government moves toward a market economy. “This will happen in the next 10 years, for sure”, said Fullani. “Albania has this commitment and is going in the right direction to be a membership candidate.”
According to Mr. Fullani, Albania is making progress within the European Union. The Governor of the Bank of Albania listed a number of successes in its integration efforts. The $9 billion economy grew about six percent last year and Albania sold Euro 7.8 million worth of lek-denominated bonds on the domestic market in December 2007. Moreover, Albania is working hard to improve its business framework and environment in order to attract more foreign investments. Mr. Fullani said this year the foreign direct investments (FDI) are going to increase to more than 6 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) achieved in 2007 and that a number of serious companies are looking to invest in the energy, banking, and tourism sectors in Albania.
Additionally, Fullani defended the monetary policies of the Bank of Albania and was especially proud of the economic strategies undertaken in the beginning of the 90’s. Making the Albanian Lek freely tradable is “one of the best strategies that we set up at the beginning of the 1990s”, Fullani said. “It has been a very good element of easing inflation expectations and pressures from outside.”
However, Albania is still far from becoming a member in the European Union. Albania remains the poorest country in Europe. Around 40 percent of its population has no running water. Last year, both citizens and businesses suffered from prolonged shortages of power. Despite improvements in legislation and the fight against the corruption, the country is struggling to attract foreign companies to invest in Albania. Moody’s Investors Service assigned Albania a B1 rating in June 2007, four steps below investment grade.