Abstract
The Republic of Albania, placed in southeastern Europe, precisely in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula, counts 3,400,000 inhabitants within a surface area of 28,745 km2 where different religious ethnic groups live together.1
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Notes
- 1.
After Independence (1912) from the Ottoman Empire, Albania never had an official State religion and in 1967, under the State policy of obliterating all organized religion from Albanian territories, all faiths were banned and mosques, as well as any other religious site were closed. Religious freedom has returned to Albania since the regime’s change in 1992, and currently most of the population is Muslim (around 70%), albeit there are also some minorities Orthodox Christians (almost 20%) and Roman Catholics (almost 10%).
- 2.
The cornerstones of the economic reform programme were price and exchange system liberalization, fiscal consolidation, monetary restraint and a strong income policy, integrated by a comprehensive package of structural reforms including privatization, enterprise, financial sector reform and the creation of a legal framework for a market economy and private sector activity. Most agriculture, State housing, and small industry were privatized and so were transport, services and small and medium-sized enterprises. In 1995, the government began privatizing large State enterprises.
- 3.
See The Government of Albania, 2005 Removing of Administrative Barriers: Ongoing Progress to Improve the Business Climate, Report of the Ministry of Economy. For progresses of the Republic of Albania in the Millennium Development Goals achievement, see www.undp.org
- 4.
See EC Decision 2006/54, EC Official Journal L 35 7/02/2006. The political relationship between the EC and Albania begun with a Commercial and Economic Agreement signed by the two Parties in 1992, followed by the Stabilization and Association Process (SAP) launched in 1999 by the EU involving, among others, five South-East European Countries including Albania. In June 2000, the European Council of Santa Maria de-Feira, declared that all the countries involved in the SAP are to be considered as “EU potential candidates”. In 2003 negotiations for the conclusion of the SAA started and the Thessaloniki European Council of 2005 released some positive declarations related to the possible future chances of integration between the EC and the Western Balkans, lately confirmed as a high priority goal of the EU integration policy. Eventually, the above described process culminated in 2006 with the ratification of the SAA between EC and Republic of Albania.
- 5.
Although the Republic of Albania GDP has reached a 6% growth, consolidated in the past 5 years, data reported by the Bank of Albania show that in 2007 the country’s GDP per capita stood at USD 3.256 with a 13.7% unemployment rate. These figures reveal that Albania remains one of poorest European countries, with a 18.5% rate of population still living in conditions of poverty. Therefore it will be of foremost importance for the country to take the opportunity offered by the EU financial aid.
- 6.
Chapter VI, Approximation and implementation of legislation, rules of competition, article 70-3.
- 7.
Chapter VIII, article 108 of SAA Environment.
- 8.
Albania ratified the Kyoto Protocol with Law no. 9334 On Adhering of the Republic of Albania to the Kyoto Protocol dated 16 December 2004.
- 9.
The Republic of Albania First National Communication to the UNFCCC Secretariat is available at www.unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2979.php.
- 10.
See the Law No. 8934 of 5 September 2002 on “Environmental Protection” as amended; the Inter-sectoral Strategy for Environment, adopted by the DCM No. 847 of 29 November 2007, which is supported by the Action Plan and Strategy for Biodiversity Protection, the Strategy for the Development of Forestry and Pastures, and the Urban Waste Management Plan; the Energy Strategy, the sectoral Strategy for Agriculture and Food adopted by DCM No. 924 dated 14 November 2007, DCM No. 34 of 28 January 2002 “On the approval of National Action Plan for Environment”, DCM No. 577 of 5 September 2007 “On some amendments to the DCM No. 463 dated 5.7.2006 “On the adoption of the National Plan for the implementation of SAA”.; The National Strategy for Development and Integration (NSDI) 2007–2013, approved by the Council of Ministers on 12 March 2008.
- 11.
More details on the Italo-Albanian MoU may be found on the IMELS official web site www.minambiente.it.
- 12.
The CDM portfolio is available on www.ambientebalcani.it, on www.minambiente.it and on www.moe.gov.al.
- 13.
It has to be mentioned that in June 2005 the MEFWA appointed the Climate Change Unit, established within MEFWA itself by a GEF-UNDP programme, as UNFCCC Focal Point, temporary serving as DNA until the establishment of a more stable and stronger authority serving as DNA.
- 14.
Decision of CoM No. 1553, of 26 November 2008 On the Establishment of the DNA of CDM, in the framework of the implementations of KP commitments in Official Journal 181: 8996.
- 15.
Regulation No. 1, of 25 March 2009 On the rules and procedures for assessment and adoption of the CDM Projects.
- 16.
According to the specific type of CDM project, the line ministries may be the Ministries of Infrastructures, Energy, Trade and Economy, Finance and others.
- 17.
It has to be mentioned that in addition to the full implementation of UNFCCC and the KP, the establishment of the country’s climate change policy requires the development of other relevant and related legislation, that in the case of Albania is mainly represented by the IPPC, EIA, SEA, renewable energy and energy efficiency legislation.
- 18.
See note 3.
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Barreca, A., Deçka, E.K. (2010). DNAs Experiences in the Western Balkans: The Republic of Albania. In: Montini, M. (eds) Developing CDM Projects in the Western Balkans. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3392-5_5
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