The EU hits Rama: We do not agree on the funds that the Prime Minister is looking for, every Albanian sees what we have done

The Ambassador of the European Union, Christiane Hohmann, has responded to Prime Minister Edi Rama, who a few days ago publicly requested more investment funds, writes Euronews Albania.

Asked by journalist Erla Mëhilli about this and why the European Union grants Albania less project funds compared to other Balkan countries, despite the smaller population, the head of European diplomacy in our country said:

"I don't agree with that. Albania, in fact, receives an average of 100 million Euros of support per year in the form of grants or projects. Many things are happening and every Albanian can see that the EU has been here for years, roads have been built, but you can also see it in the agricultural sector, in the reconstruction of the Tirana-Durra railway, so it is ongoing. Albania is taking what it can implement, that you can really take a lot, but what can be implemented and really built, reconstructed, realized in the country. We are working hard to do as much as possible here in Albania", said the EU ambassador on Now with Erla Mëhilli, adding that:

"There is the Investment Fund for the Western Balkans for the whole region which is for large infrastructure projects and Albania can submit projects and sometimes some of them are cross-border projects. The board decides if these projects are accepted and Albania can submit suggestions'", underlined Hohmann.

Meanwhile, to journalist Erla Mëhilli's insistence regarding the real help that the EU provides for business, civil society and the media, Hohmann replied that: Let's start with the media: supporting investigative journalism, supporting quality journalism is very important, since how can How do people cope with the multitude of news that comes their way and select the correct one? Education with the ability to understand and analyze information in the media is very important. I mentioned two big projects: "EU for Culture" and "EU for Schools". "63 schools have been rebuilt or built from scratch," she said, also mentioning the investments in the areas affected by the earthquake.

"Only in the earthquake areas, we are talking about the areas affected by the earthquake in 2019, so not for the whole country. The same with "EU for Culture". People have seen the pier in front of the National Historical Museum in Tirana, part of the EU for culture", she said, among other things.