EU helps Albania for faster and better public services

TIRANA, Feb. 22 – Albania has applied for the candidate status into the European Union three years ago and has gotten twice a negative answer, mainly due to the lack of reforms hampered from the political infighting.
Following some good progress last year when both governing Democratic Party and the main opposition Socialist party agreed to work together on such reforms, the country still lacks the required standards for the bloc.
On its side Europe continues to assist the country, in a clear sign that it belongs to the continent and that organization. But it should do more itself.
In this line Brussels gave to Albania 3.2 millioneuros to help it prepare the necessary legal framework, the technical capacity, as well as human capacity to digitalize services.
That was made known on Tuesday when the government held the National Conference on Information Society to discuss the country’s achievements and challenges in introducing e-services for both citizens and businesses. E-services have spread in many EU countries and have proven to be instrumental in cutting time and costs of service delivery.Digitalizing services for citizens and businesses means that all taxpayers receive their deserved services more quickly and more economically from government authorities. Not only do citizens and businesses save much wasted time and energy in queues, but under the counter payments to speed up the delivery of a service are also eliminated, and the state budget is relieved of many operational costs.
The government has declared digitalization of the country’s administration and the entire life as a big challenge and priority.
The EU will work with the Albanian authorities in three main directions: 1) to prepare the laws necessary to ensure, for instance, that electronic applications for services are recognized by all relevant institutions, that those citizens and businesses are protected from personal data abuse and misuse, etc; 2) to select and develop the software and equipment needed for e-services; and 3) to train a total of 500 public servants to use the new software and equipment to serve citizens.
It is expected that upon completion of the project Albanians will be able to receive their due services without queuing up anywhere, without travelling any distance at all to reach an office, and without bribes. The higher the level of technical sophistication chosen by the authorities, the higher the level of transparency, accountability and efficiency.
Albania boasts of imposing the tender process only electronically. That has been praised by the international organizations.
But meanwhile some Albanian businessmen also complain that there are still ways and methods of corruption.
Head of the European Union Delegation to Albania, Ambassador Ettore Sequi said that “E-Government can wake up your public administration”. “Nowadays successful governance is determined to a very large degree by e-services. And that is simply because e-services put the citizens at the center. E-services are created with your time, resources and mobility in mind”.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha said that digitalization is vital for Albania’s steps toward integration into the EU and also in its efforts to fight corruption.
That will really be a good way to fight corruption in this country as “a computer doesn’t take a bribe,” as Sequi said. But Albanians would also doubt that idea saying that the computer is run by human beings.