Germany is investing in Albania’s future

In line with Albania’s aim to join the EU, Germany is investing in Albania’s infrastructure to improve living conditions for all Albanians and to make it easier to do business in the country, German Ambassador Hellmut Hoffmann says in an exclusive interview with Tirana Times’ Andi Balla. But the country must continue to implement reforms to tackle pressing rule of law issues, Hoffmann adds.
Q: Mr. Ambassador, Germany is EU’s largest economy and its most populous country, as such, it is seen as a leading force inside a union, which is just coming out of some major economic and political challenges. What is Germany’s hope for the future of the European Union?
A: Barack Obama once said: “The European Union is our strongest political partner – if united.” The biggest challenge for the European Union is remaining united and speaking with one voice to the extent possible. Germany’s ambition is making sure this materializes. This is more than a hope, this is rather a need, and there is no alternative: In our globalized world, European countries can only prosper and face the multiple challenges, if and when they stand together.
Q: Stopping on the issue of enlargement: As the EU makes it clear that for the five next years no new country will be ready to join, Germany appears to have a reinvigorated role in the Western Balkans, starting with the high-level conference led in Berlin by Chancellor Merkel with the heads of government from the region. Is Germany taking a new lead role here, and if so why?
A: People often put the question to me how long the EU accession process will take for Albania and the other Western Balkan aspirants. My answer to this is always: No one knows, because no-one knows today how quickly the reform and modernization processes will progress in the different countries and also how the overall European and even global political context will develop. But one thing is pretty certain: if people drag their feet or engage only in cosmetic reform, they do not do themselves a favour and conversely, if aspirants are focused on the ball and move energetically forward they can not only improve their accession prospects, but they would do their countries a great service in its own right. As far as Germany is concerned it is clear that we have a strong interest in helping to stabilize the region after all the huge problems it has gone through in the last 25 years or so and it is obvious to everyone that a viable and sustainable EU accession perspective is one of the key contributors to this. It is therefore no wonder that we try to help aspirants to get ready for accession.
Q: Albania’s prime minister was in Berlin for an official visit earlier this year, the first visit of its kind in a while. There was a sense that would be an even closer political cooperation between Albania and Germany following the visit. If that’s the case, can you explain what we can expect?
A: The relations between Germany and Albania are excellent, but it is always good to work actively on a relationship, and of course meetings on a senior level are an important factor in this. As to the visit of Prime Minister Rama in early April, I would only remind you that it took place at an important juncture, when the German government – like the other EU member states governments – were determining their position with regard to the granting of the candidate status to Albania and I think it is fair to say that the meeting between Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Rama was very useful in this regard. As to the future, we intend to carry on with our quite intensive bilateral cooperation which finds expression in many projects, as you certainly know.
Q: Despite being an economic giant in Europe, Germany does not carry the same weight in trade and investment in Albania than, say, Italy or Austria do. There are some German success stories here, but German businesses that have not had much contact with Albania are not very attracted to investing, according to surveys done by DIHA (the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry). Is this simply a matter of geographic distance or the small size of Albania’s market? Is it due to concerns over rule of law and corruption? What do you see as potential for growth in economic cooperation the future?
A: I am deeply convinced that a successful reform of the judiciary which is just about to start will increase considerably Albania’s attractiveness for foreign investors, including German investors. As such Albania can offer many interesting opportunities to investors, but this potential is far from being exploited for the moment. A basic point is to treat investors who are already engaged in Albania well and to help proactively to smoothen the start for those who are interested in coming, because everybody should be aware that concrete experience made by investors – be it positive or negative -spreads very quickly. A few success stories would be of great help! My embassy and the other German institutions in Albania – let me just name the German Association of Industry and Trade, DIHA – are ready to join hands with the government in order to make this happen.
Q: The German state itself has heavily invested in Albania, much of it through your development bank, the KfW. You have done so in key infrastructure projects, like major inter-connection power lines inside Albania and with neighbors like Kosovo. Why are you helping and why have you focused on these types of projects in particular? Have you met any challenges in this work?
A: Our ambition is to improve living conditions for all Albanians and to facilitate the activities of private businesses, also with a view to Albania’s EU membership ambitions. An improved infrastructure is a vital precondition for example for the further development of tourism, a sector with considerable potential. The power lines help making Albania independent from weather conditions in its electricity supply. Sure, there are challenges, like sometimes things take a bit long to get sorted out, like it was the case with the Albania-Kosovo power line. A big challenge remains making people understand that they have to pay their energy bills if they want to have a sustainable energy supply in the country as a whole.
Q: Shkodran Mustafi, a German football player, became the first person of ethnic Albanian heritage to raise the FIFA World Cup this past summer. He is part of a large immigrant community with roots in Albania and ethnic Albanian communities in the region. What role do you think that community plays in relations between the two countries?
A: Let me first of all say that like the rest of the German community here in Albania I was absolutely delighted to see a German with Albanian roots play in the German team in the World Cup! Likewise we were all very touched by the enthusiasm of Albanians for the German side we encountered throughout the tournament – Albanians driving around in their cars waving Germans flags and so on, and that even before we won in the final! There is no question in my mind that the Albanian community in Germany can make a significant contribution to developing our relationship and Shkodran Mustafi has certainly played an excellent role in this respect. I know quite a number of people — Germans in Albania and Albanians in Germany — who see themselves as bridges between our peoples and this is a potential we should make the best possible use of.