The European Commission (EC) has rejected recent statements by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama regarding the suspension of IPARD II reimbursements and the pause of IPARD III programs. During his 2026 budget presentation in Parliament, Rama referred to the Brussels decision as a “miserable song of agricultural funds,” claiming that OLAF investigations for 2019–2023 revealed similar violations in EU countries, totaling over €1 billion.
EC Clarifies Albania’s Case is Unique
According to Faktoje.al, the EC emphasizes that Albania’s situation is unprecedented. Unlike standard audits in EU member states, the suspension of IPARD II and the pause of IPARD III in Albania were based on a formal OLAF investigation, not merely technical financial corrections.
“In Albania, the European Commission has stopped IPARD reimbursements and suspended all IPARD III measures based on information obtained from OLAF as part of an ongoing investigation since July 2023,” the EC stated.
The Commission explains that while technical deficiencies in EU countries can be corrected through financial adjustments, cases arising from OLAF investigations, as in Albania, require stronger corrective actions and institutional reforms.
Repeated Misrepresentations
This is not the first time the Albanian government has minimized or misrepresented the IPARD suspension. In July 2023, Agriculture Minister Frida Krifca claimed that similar irregularities were found in Germany, France, and the Netherlands — a statement refuted by the European Commission.
The EC reiterates that the measure against Albania is without precedent and serves as a test of institutional credibility on the country’s path toward EU integration.
Conclusion
The European Commission stresses the importance of distinguishing between:
- Financial corrections applied in EU member states for technical issues, and
- Suspensions based on OLAF investigations, as in the case of Albania.
Rama’s claim that OLAF found comparable violations only in Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus, Ireland, and the Netherlands is false. The IPARD issue in Albania is not merely a minor administrative concern but a serious test of governance and accountability in the context of EU accession.
