As an international donors’ conference is being held today in Brussels, intended to gather aid in support of reconstruction efforts following the November 26 earthquake in Albania.
In the immediate aftermath of an earthquake that killed 51 and injured upwards of 900 Albanians, the European Commission activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism at the request of the Albanian government. Additionally, in December it announced a €15 million grant for reconstruction of priority public buildings.
A joint needs assessment report by the EU, the UN, the World Bank, and the Albanian government, found that more than 47 thousand people were affected directly by the earthquake, whereas about 17 thousand were displaced. The report assessed damages amounted to nearly €1 billion and over 10,000 people are still living in tents.
In the wake of this report, and the upcoming donors’ conference, Minister Arben Ahmetaj spoke to Deutsche Welle of his gratitude towards the European community and expressed his hopes that a combined €450 million in grants and loans would be achieved.
Ursual von der Leyen, President of the European Commission has already pledged €115 in EU grants to aid recovery efforts.
