TIRANA, Jan. 18 – Large-scale involuntary migration, locally known as the asylum exodus, has emerged as the top concern for doing business in Albania after more than 50,000 Albanians left the country in 2015, mainly to Germany, with a negative impact on the small ailing economy of 2.8 million residents, according to a survey published in the latest Global Risks Report by the World Economic Forum.
Large-scale involuntary migration was the top concern for 78 percent of respondents about doing business in Albania for the next ten years, the survey showed.
Nearly 52,000 Albanians applied for asylum in Germany between January and November 2015, an increase of around 645 percent on the previous year, Deutsche Welle cites Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF). The exodus was mainly a result of economic reasons but also disappointment and hope for better life although German officials have made it clear no Albanian will be granted asylum for economic reasons.
The exodus has already had an impact on the Albanian economy which is struggling with poor consumption levels and sluggish lending due to a high level of non-performing loans. Although a nationwide campaign against tax evasion formalized thousands of businesses previously operating informally, government revenue failed to recover in the second-half of 2015 with the budget cut twice to handle lower income from the sharp cut in international oil prices affecting exports, lower domestic consumption and the escalating crisis in neighboring Greece, the second top trading partner and the major source of migrant remittances.
Fiscal crises which are related to debt burdens and liquidity were the second top concern for two-thirds of Albanian businesses in the survey conducted between mid-September and the end of October 2015 at the onset of an aggressive nationwide campaign against rampant informality, estimated at 30 percent of the GDP.
The energy price shock was rated the third top concern for doing business in Albania where the sharp cut in international oil and base metal prices has considerably affected production, investments and jobs in the oil and mining industries, the top exporter in the past few years.
Unemployment or underemployment is a concern for half of Albanian businesses. “Unemployment affects business in multiple ways, from holding back economic growth to threatening social stability,” says the report.
Failure of financial mechanism and urban planning are also a concern for about a third of businesses, according to the Global Risks Perception survey.
In other surveys conducted by different international and local organizations, Albanian businesses have placed the increasing tax burden and corruption as the two key barriers for doing business in Albania.
