EU grants Albania’s civic society with 1.5 million euro

TIRANA, Dec. 14 – The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) awarded ten grants totaling 1.5 million euro through the Civil Society Facility funding to various civil society organizations in Albania aiming at the strengthening of civic initiatives and capacity building and bringing the country closer to European Union (EU) standards.
IPA-funded grant contracts in support of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) were launched in a public event today with the participation of representatives of the EU Delegation, grant beneficiaries and media. The EU says it attaches great importance to civil society’s participation in policy and decision-making as an imperative to a just and democratic society. EU’s support to civil society provides for strengthened capacities and accountability that guarantee a sustainable role for CSOs in the democratic process.
Addressing participants at the event, the Head of the EU Delegation to Albania, Ambassador Ettore Sequi emphasized: “We have supported you financially and will continue to do so because we believe that by strengthening the civil society we respond to the country needs and we also provide for a stronger foundation so that Albania can progress further in its European path.”
Ambassador Sequi also noted that “only in the last five years we have provided more than 13 million euro of funding to more than 100 projects in a wide range of sectors from human rights, to environment, justice, media, social inclusion and support to vulnerable groups.”
This year’s grants focus on the improvement of media freedom and media professionalism in Albania, fostering social inclusion of Roma children, establishment of social facilities for youth, strengthening the role of courts in sustaining freedom of expression, the fight against torture in prisons, respecting of human rights in the penitentiary system, improvement of access to justice for disabled people and reporting on environmental issues in Albania.