On 31 October 2024, the third Steering Committee Meeting of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Action against Economic Crime in Albania brought together senior representatives of Albanian beneficiary institutions to assess the progress achieved during January – October 2024.
The main goal of this meeting was focused on discussing the improvement of the legal framework and consolidation of the institutional capacities in countering corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.
In her opening remarks, Mrs. Giulia Re, Head of the Council Europe Office in Tirana, emphasized the significant milestone in Albania's journey toward EU membership with the opening of negotiations on the First Cluster focused on Fundamentals, a step made possible by substantial progress in meeting EU preconditions. This Cluster includes also the primary focus areas of the Action: fight against corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing.
The Action received highly positive feedback from various beneficiaries, who expressed satisfaction with the assistance provided by the Action to properly address GRECO and MONEYVAL recommendations. Mr. Ervin Koçi, Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency, acknowledged the Action’s valuable support in increasing the effectiveness of the preventive system against money laundering and terrorist financing in compliance with international standards. Notably, Mr. Koçi expressed his appreciation for the comprehensive support provided by the Action to improving the National Strategy on the Fight against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, as well as reviewing the domestic anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime.
The members of the Steering Committee also discussed the plan of activities for the upcoming semi-annual period and reaffirmed the importance of a strong co-operation towards the prevention and fight against economic crime.
The activity was organised by the Action against economic crime in Albania, within the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.
