Albania the Focus of Discussion on Challenges of EU Integration Process

On November 6, Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG) held a public lecture and discussion about the coming challenges on the path to EU integration.

Arben Malaj, President at the Institute of Public Policies and Good Governance (IPPM) and former Minister of Finance and Economy of Albania (1997-2005), delivered a lecture, together with Aleksi Aleksishvili, Chairman of PMCG, and Temur Beridze, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at Tbilisi State University (TSU).

Malaj gave a presentation and shared the experiences of both himself and his country on EU integration and emphasized that the road to EU is difficult but important.

An active audience consisted of students and professors of the faculty of economy who had many interesting questions for the Albanian speaker. They discussed topics such as the impact of regulatory reforms for business, the importance of regional collaboration for the country’s economy and in the context of EU integration, growth and fiscal stability and other issues.

“Avoid delays in implementation of the AA with the EU, because it will cause more polarization of the internal political environment of Georgia. That’s what happened in Albania when it signed AA in 2003 but was fulfilled only in 2014. The Government should be very consistent and punctual in meeting all needs reflected in the AA. This is not for the benefit of EU, this is for the benefit of Georgia”, advised Malaj to the future policy makers.

By the end of the meeting, Malaj and Beridze noted that they will discuss the possible options for an exchange program for Georgian students.

The event was held under the project “Sharing experience of Visegrad countries’ EU economic integration for Albania”, financed by the Visegrad Fund and implemented by PMCG in collaboration with IPPM.