FLASH
Shkruar nga Mentor Kikia
In support of EU accession negotiations!
Albania has opened most of the chapters for negotiations with the EU. Among the chapters are “Public Procurement”, “Food Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection Policies”, “Consumer Protection and Public Health”…
Beyond our political enthusiasm for closing all chapters (33) by 2027 and beyond the geostrategic conditions that favor membership in 2030, we who live here are interested in the consequences, or impact, of these criteria on our lives.
In a public kindergarten in Gramsh, about 70 children had health problems caused by food poisoning. It is suspected to be caused by the Salmonella bacteria. I know that such incidents also occur in the EU. But the question is what mechanisms does the state have to catch and prevent the risk, and above all, how does it react after the case. According to the media, this entity is suspected of having previously resulted in violations of hygiene and sanitation rules during an inspection by the National Institute of Health in 2023, but has continued to operate normally.
What happened to a company that was denounced by the media with great fanfare a few weeks ago for importing salmonella-tainted meat from Brazil? Nothing. The company, after covering up the incident, after refusing to cooperate with the state, simply increased its advertising budget to recoup the damage in the imash. The television stations that broadcast them rubbed their hands and “life goes on.”
The company supplies food to the kindergarten, not only this kindergarten, but also to many public institutions such as hospitals and prisons, and according to the media, it has a negative history with the state. A few years ago, its owner was arrested, after, together with several other companies, and the leadership of the prison system, they had set up a scheme that controlled tenders for the supply of food to prisons (and prisoners consume a lot, they live better than 70% of the population in this country).
What happened? Nothing. The owner transferred the company to his daughter and continues to receive tenders. According to the media, many of these tenders have been marked with a “red flag” in the public procurement system, a warning signal for a lack of transparency, weak competition, or suspicions of irregularities in the procedures.
So, to conclude the Chapters of “Food Safety” and “Transparency in Procurement”, neither our desire nor the “geostrategic dilemma” of the EU is enough. Even if the EU goes crazy and opens its doors to us, we should not rejoice in EU membership, but rather seek to fulfill the criteria and standards that improve our living conditions, which the countries and peoples of the EU enjoy.
Lini një Përgjigje