FLASH
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Democratic Party MP, Jorida Tabaku, delivered a speech in the chamber of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, at a conference organized by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, attended by parliamentarians from the Western Balkan countries and representatives of British and European institutions.
Tabaku spoke openly about the structural crisis that the Albanian economy is experiencing, which, according to her, "suffers not only from a lack of sustainable growth, but from a system that has been captured and controlled by narrow interests that hinder fair competition and public trust."
"In many of our countries, including Albania, the economy is neither free nor fair. It has become systematically exclusionary. Growth is real only on paper, but not in the lives of citizens. Capital moves fast, but trust moves slowly," Tabaku emphasized.
According to the Democratic MP, the biggest problem does not lie in the lack of laws, but in their lack of implementation and the political use of the economy.
"Albania today suffers from an economy that often functions as an extension of power. An economy where rules are not applied equally to everyone, where meritocracy has been replaced by connections, and where transparency is only a promise, not a practice," she said.
Tabaku emphasized that money laundering and the circulation of suspicious capital in key sectors, such as construction and real estate, are undermining competition, distorting the market, and eroding trust in the state.
"When the economy operates with 30 or 40 percent informality, when international reports openly speak of the circulation of dirty money in the construction and real estate sectors, then democracy is at risk long before the first vote is cast. Because in such a system, elections may be free, but they are no longer fair," Tabaku warned.
Referring to her experience as one of the most committed voices for economic reform and European integration, she brought the example of the law on the control of foreign direct investments (FDI Screening Law), which she has proposed in the Albanian Parliament.
"I did not propose this law to hinder investments, but to protect them. To protect the Albanian market from dubious capital, to bring it into line with European standards and to guarantee that Albania is open to the world, but not unprotected against abuses," the DP MP underlined.
Tabaku emphasized that corruption in the region is no longer accidental, but a deliberate means to capture institutions, suppress competition, and control the market.
"Corruption is no longer a consequence, but a method. It has become a system that fosters economic dependence and destroys private initiative. It is the means by which a captured economy is kept afloat," she said.
Following her speech, Tabaku emphasized that the biggest challenge for the region and for Albania is restoring trust in the economy and politics.
“There is a deep fatigue among our citizens. They hear every day about GDP, about investment and about economic growth, but what they feel is the rising cost of living, stagnant wages and a lack of hope. If we do not address this feeling not only with numbers, but with direction and political will, we risk losing more than funds — we risk losing public trust,” she stressed.
At the end of her speech, the DP MP emphasized that sustainable growth is not only an economic issue, but also a moral one: "growth cannot be measured only by numbers, but by justice. Growth is not real until it is fair. The fight for a clean economy is the fight for a clean democracy."
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