June 30, 2021
The Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI) in cooperation with the Municipality of Tirana, organized on June 30, 2021, the Second Workshop in the framework of the project “Mainstreaming Migration – Local Authorities Network for Migration and Development”. This project is implemented by CDI in partnership with the International Organization for Migration, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and in collaboration with the Italian think tank CeSPI.
The objectives of this project are the exchange of the best practices between the Municipalities of Bologna, Milan and Tirana in drafting local policies focusing on migration management, as well as supporting the Municipality of Tirana in implementing new national legal competencies in this area.
The second workshop “Identification of Steps for Implementation of Local Competences in Migration Issues” kicked off with the welcoming notes by Ms. Krisela Hackaj, Executive Director at the Cooperation and Development Institute, and Ms. Arjeta Rudha, Director of the Economic Development Department of the Tirana Municipality.
During her address, Ms. Hackaj added that in the coming years the participation of local government in Albania in managing migration will be intensified, therefore the interinstitutional cooperation is crucial and concrete steps should be taken by all actors involved in this process.
Ms. Arjeta Rudha, praised the exchange of experiences and practices in the field of migration between the Municipalities of Tirana, Bologna and Milan. However, she argued that there should be a shift from the application of ad hoc migration-related projects to systemic ones.
The workshop was further greeted through a video message by Mr. Erjon Veliaj, Mayor of the Tirana Municipality, who indicated that the Albanian Diaspora is an invaluable asset for the Albanian Municipalities. Likewise, Mr. Veliaj praised the project objectives, focusing on the role and importance of youth involvement in this topic, the need for cooperation with different stakeholders and institutions for implementing friendly migration policies by the Municipality of Tirana.
Mr. Genci Pjetri, from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Albania, suggested that a field study should be done in order to form a detailed database on the current state of migration in Albania. Furthermore, Mr. Pjetri recommended the combination and coordination between the National Action Plan of the Albanian State for migration and the Local Action Plan of the Municipalities.
The project experts presented the main findings and recommendations that reflect the concrete views and proposals of all institutions involved in this consultation towards taking concrete steps to the initial planning of local actions to exercise the new migration function. The participants of this workshop were representatives from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Diaspora, Municipality of Tirana, IOM Albania, National Youth Congress and other experts in the field.
Mr. Ledjon Shahini, CDI Albania expert, suggested that there should be a proper and efficient consultation of the state institutions of Albania with experts on the domain of studies that will be done on the subject of migration. Mr. Shahini also highlighted the positive and negative effects that migration has for Albania. Among the positive effects were the gain of financial capital and highly skilled professionals. On the negative side, those were the increase of economic informality of the market and the reduction of the economic level of wages.
Ms. Istela Mujollari, Director in the Strategic Planning Sector of the Tirana Municipality, referred to the legal framework of the Strategic Plan while dividing it into three categories: i) structures for the migration; ii) budget and its ratification by the Municipality Council of Tirana; and iii) finalization of the respective institutional functions and responsibilities.
Mr. Klajdi Priska, from the National Youth Congress, focused more on global migration, where he highlighted the worrying fact that the largest proportion of the migrants are the young people. Mr. Priska also commented on the illegal migration in the EU and on the EU specific regulations to decrease the number of illegal migrations. At a national level, Mr. Priska presented the data according to which Albania, in comparison to its regional neighboring countries, is facing a high number of young highly-skilled professionals which contributes detrimentally in the Brain Drain phenomenon of the country.
Mr. Alban Haxhi, from the Ministry of Interior, argued that the integration of migrants into the Albanian society and labor force will be a problem for the country in the future. Mr. Haxhi also supported that it is imperative to establish more efficient cooperation relations among various institutions and organizations in Albania.
Mr. Detjon Vathaj, from the Minister of State for the Diaspora, suggested that the Albanian Action Plans on migration should be similar to the Kosovar ones, which have proven to be successful. Additionally, Mr. Vathaj said that the local governance has to be more active and influential in the drafting of the Action Plans on migration.
With the conclusion of this second workshop, the project partners will finalize a working document with concrete recommendations to be undertaken by the Municipality of Tirana in the coming period in the framework of the implementation of migration and diaspora competencies.
The working language of this workshop was Albanian.
The agenda of the event can further be consulted here.
