FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The EU demands punishment for abusers of IPARD funds as a condition for opening Chapter 5, while Rama gives signals that he will hand over Frida Krifca to justice after four years of protection...
This week, the European Commission opened “Chapter 4” of the negotiations to Albania, on the theme “Green Agenda and Sustainable Connectivity”, evaluating it as a rapid progress and a start for the finalization of the integration process. Now, only “Chapter 5” remains unopened, on the theme “Modernization of agriculture, support for farmers, agricultural and livestock production standards, food control and cohesion in this sector”.
In fact, this chapter was supposed to be opened in January 2025, but the European Commission blocked the process due to the numerous problems that the agricultural sector in Albania has, especially corruption with the funds provided by the EU. In March 2025, Edi Rama declared that the chapter on agriculture would be opened in May, but the Commission refused, because the justice system had not brought to justice the former director of AZHBR, Frida Krifca, and her subordinates, accused of abusing 138 million euros of funds from the “IPARD II” program in the years 2017–2021.
After opening Chapter 4, Rama declared that within 2025, the chapter on agriculture, which is the last in the negotiation process, will also be opened. But again, the European Commission set a condition for punishing abusers of funds. Perhaps Rama's statement was made after he gave guarantees to the Commission's chiefs that Frida Krifca and her group would be brought to justice before the December conference, as the only condition for unblocking the chapter on agriculture.
On September 2, 2025, the “Pamphlet” warned that the European Commission would decide not to open the chapter on agriculture, due to the blockage of investigations into the abuse of EU funds. In parallel with the conference in Brussels, a delegation of the European Commission for Budgetary Control, led by President Niclas Herbst, landed in Albania to follow the fate of the criminal file on agricultural funds and the government’s role in obstructing this investigation.
Rama's statement that the chapter on agriculture will be opened by December 2025 is a clear signal that he has decided to hand Frida Krifca over to justice, after four years of protection, blocking OLAF's criminal report and its investigation in a bargain with SPAK leaders.
Now, the opening of Chapter 5 on agriculture is solely in the hands of Altin Dumani and his stance on the “Krifca” file. But, since Rama gave a guarantee that the chapter will be opened by December, it seems that he has reached an agreement with Dumani to put Frida Krifca behind bars./ Pamphlet
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