The former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Alban Zusi, says that the Albanian authorities are not up to date with increased standards and requirements in the agricultural sector and that aligning with the EU acquis as things are now, would see 90% of businesses close.
Albania recently opened the formal negotiations process for EU membership which will involve aligning its current legal framework in all areas with that of the bloc.
In an interview for “Euronews Albania”, Zusi said that if today Albania were to turn the EU legislation on agriculture into law, 90% of the enterprises in this sector would be closed.
According to him, this is due to several factors, such as non-compliance with food standards or safety at work.
“Do the Albanian authorities know about this matter? I have the impression that I don’t know, at least from the indicators I have, from the meetings that take place. In general, the concept of integration is conceived as a process of translation of legislation and approval in parliament, but this is not the case,” he said.
He added that there are EU regulations for everything including meat and milk.
” If you take it and turn it into an Albanian law, you must close 90% of the enterprises the day after the law was approved. The standards of food safety and work safety are not met. It is a process of what is the current need, what are the needs and how much funds will be needed from the European Union”, he emphasized.
