TIRANA, Feb. 17 – A sum of 1.15 billion euros in the form of direct financing, investment in housing construction or infrastructure renovations, grants, loans or development support was raised on Monday at the conclusion of the international Donor Conference, held in Brussels to help Albania cope with the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the country on Nov. 26, 2020.
The amount collected goes beyond the government’s estimated damages of 1.08 billion euros.
Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, who chaired the session where each participating country offered its contribution, said this is a strong message that the EU cares about the Albanian people.
Prime Minister Edi Rama, in his first reaction shortly after the release of the figure, said the amount gathered is beyond imagination.
The Donor Conference, organized by the European Commission, began on Monday morning with a presentation of the situation.
In his opening remarks, Rama pronounced the words ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ in some foreign languages, which he would then use several times in Albanian. He said he felt “deeply affected” by the presence of a large number of international countries and institutions.
Rama thanked the EU for the immediate assistance it provided in the aftermath of the earthquake, as well as many other countries.
“There is no limit to the gratitude I feel,” he said.
According to the damage assessment report, in addition to the 51 casualties and 900 injured, the November earthquake “displaced about 17,000 people from damaged homes. A total of 202,291 people were affected by this natural disaster, in 11 local government units. Over 62,000 are damaged buildings.”
The evaluation report concluded that “to cope with the effects of the damage and the revenue lost as a result of the earthquake, it would take almost 1.08 billion euros across all recovery sectors. The sectors that reflect the greatest needs are housing, representing almost 76 percent of all needs, followed by education and infrastructure.”
Just to cope with the damage done to housing, it is estimated that it will take about 696 million euros. All damage is equal to 6.4 percent of Albania’s gross domestic product.
“It is a huge sum for us. We cannot afford this alone. We lack the money and what’s more, we do not have much time. So I am here with a call and a direct request. Please help with affordable grants and loans necessary to build homes, communities, and the shattered trust. Please respond to our suffering with the generosity we need,” said Rama.
European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen also said that “it is clear that Albania alone cannot bear this burden. Today we promise the Albanian people that yes, we will be there for a long time and our solidarity will continue to be as strong as it was in the early hours after the earthquake.”
She further stated that “today we are on Albania’s side at a time of need. Albania will rise from the earthquake as a stronger and more secure place in the heart of our European family.”
The European Commission alone, as stated by Von Der Leyen, will commit only “100 million euros from the European Union budget, beyond the 15 million euros announced in December, and this sum does not include the contribution of our member states.”
In total, the contribution of the Commission and the member states amounts to around 400 million euros, the European Commission President, who appeared alongside Rama, said at the conclusion of the conference.
The latter reiterated that “it is one of those moments when one believes and thinks something magical has happened.”
Reactions
As the Donors’ Conference was nearing its end, President Ilir Meta welcomed the development, expressing “deep appreciation for the solidarity and contribution of the participating and contributing countries.”
For his part, Democratic Speaker Lulzim Basha said in a Facebook post that “all international donations to the Albanian people for the damage after the November 26 earthquake are blessed and welcomed. Thanks and gratitude to every country, every organization and every international institution that is close to Albanian citizens in this difficult moment. Our task is to make sure that these contributions really serve to help people in need. It is important to get work done immediately and funds are used responsibly and transparently to stop their misuse and abuse.”
Head of the opposition’s Socialist Movement for Integration Monika Kryemadhi was in the same line. While saying that “friends stood by Albania in these difficult moments and acknowledging their contribution to helping Albanian citizens and infrastructure damaged after the earthquakes hit the country,” she added that every euro aid is precious and must be administered with complete transparency and responsibility.
Enlargement Commissioner: “Corruption won’t be tolerated”
Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said the donors will closely monitor the funds gathered for Albania’s after-earthquake relief.
“There will be no corruption, as it will not be tolerated,” Varhelyi said during an interview with Deutsche Welle.
In the same interview, he also expressed reserved optimism that Albania will open the EU accession negotiations in May.
“Of course, implementation will be the key, the principles on which we have agreed with the World Bank and with other financial institutions should be respected. We have established good working conditions with the Albanian government until this moment and we will make sure the money is used reasonably,” he said, adding they will also work on improving Albania’s ability to face possible future earthquakes and their consequences.
He said the EU is aware of where the main investment needs are – in the housing sector and public buildings – and will make sure to implement the funds there.
“Surely, if we are able to modernize these sectors, we will. But, as I said, we will be fully engaged in fund implementation and we will ensure that all our principles and rules are respected.”
State Minister for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj also considered the funds gathered as a sign of trust towards the government and that the government has a ‘Marshall Plan’ in place for funds’ implementation.
He said that 300 million euros is a grant and the remaining amount is the form of soft credits and loans from different financial institutions, below 2,25 percent, and with prolonged maturity that goes as far as 20 to 25 years.
US DAS: “US funds to be managed transparently and to rehabilitate cultural monuments”
US Deputy Assistant Secretary Mathew Palmer was on the same line with EU allies in saying that the funds should be used responsibly and transparently, and also added that a part of those funds should also go for rebuilding cultural heritage monuments affected by the earthquake, a plane which hasn’t been touched by the Albanian government so far.
“To date, the United States has contributed over $800,000 to the earthquake recovery effort. The U.S. government assistance was rapid, targeted, and focused on immediate, unmet needs. Our assistance spanned all three phases of any disaster: response; recovery and reconstruction; and preparedness and disaster risk reduction. In the response phase, our engineers conducted damage assessments across three jurisdiction through an innovative coordination mechanism that, for the first time ever, combined best practices from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, and the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination,” Palmer said.
According to Palmer, it is important for the funds to be managed responsibly so the people don’t feel as if their needs are not being met. To this end, the US-Albanian Transparency Academy will be established to channel an additional 3,9 million dollars in funds to help the government manage its donations.
However, unlike other international actors or the Albanian government itself, which has not issued a report on the damage caused on cultural monuments, Palmer said a big part of US donations will go to revitalize cultural heritage.
“The United States will also provide nearly $800,000 in recovery and conservation work for damaged national monuments in the city of Durres, the town of Kruje, and the village of Preze, as identified in the Post Disaster Needs Assessment Report. Finally, through a regional preparedness initiative, the U.S. Government is also providing support in the amount of $60,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross for the purpose of helping the Albanian Red Cross establish an Emergency Operations Center, which will streamline and enhance its coordination of future emergency responses,” Palmer said.
Albania is one of the few countries to ever receive this kind of assistance from the US, but also from other international institutions and states, but now that the initial fanfare over the colossal amount gathered is dying out, the question of how capable the Albanian government is to properly manage and distribute these funds remains.
