While of the 47 million Lek of the IPARD program suspected of abuse in 7 countries, 33 million are in Albania, small and medium farmers face a silent war against bureaucratic obstacles and inaccessible EU funds. Farmers like Met Salliu and Dashamir Çela are increasingly disappointed, their hopes crushed by complex procedures and system failures. Many of them consider abandoning their lands.
Author: Armela Toska
Reddened by this summer's sun, Met Salliu wanders restlessly in the fields of his farm in Plug i Lushnja, trying to save what is left after the autumn rainstorm. He collected the amount of wheat and corn in 2 hectares of land that he works during the year. The income is modest and insufficient to start the next year with optimism. Meti is alone in his battle, without the support of any state institution. Not only does he have no help, but he finds in his daily path many obstacles that come due to the shortcomings of the state's functioning. It has never managed to get a subsidy from programs like IPARD that are so pompously promoted by the government as a success in the agricultural sector. It has tried to apply to every call that has been opened for these funds. "Every time I apply, I will be asked for a document or told that I have not completed one of the points and when I ask what I should do, different procedures appear. At first I was asked for the deed of the land for rent, after I was asked for the lease contract, then estimates that did not make sense for the project I was applying for. Even the support with subsidies is little, with free oil that is only 5% of the invested cost for this year for the wheat that remained unsold in our stock" - says the disappointed farmer.
Salliu continues his effort, at least this year he has decided to continue the battle with the arduous work in the Plow fields in Lushnje. But next year he believes that he will see the opportunity to emigrate with his family.
"Our plan for next year is to pack up and move out. If we don't sell the tools, we will take them with us and work there, because at least outside support is given without big bureaucracies," says Salliu disappointed.
Dashamir Çela, is a resident of Samaticë village in Berat, a livestock farmer with long experience. A year ago he left for emigration after going bankrupt. The Çela family closed the cattle farm with which they made a living and set off as emigrants to Germany.
He had dragged himself between struggles and efforts for many years, barely providing income for the family with the turkey farm. A year ago he decided to stop trying, convinced that the future would be more difficult. Dashamiri was denied subsidized support from the IPARD program for an honorary detail related to the distance of the stable from the dwelling. Dashamiri's drama is like that of many Albanian farmers, who are being forced to leave, as they are unable to survive with their activity. For small farmers in Albania, this program is a golden opportunity to apply for support through European Union funds for agriculture.
The Albanian Center for Quality Journalism (ACQJ) has contacted dozens of small and medium-sized farmers across Albania in an effort to find a success story. And emphasized that the absolute majority of them do not have any access to the IPARD program or even to others that the government propagandizes with excitement. After a long search for contacts with medium-sized farmers, a success story was finally found that is finalized with the investment of a machine to work the land.
A tractor is a precious gift to a farmer who has gone through a lot of trouble and exhaustion plowing the land for many years. Tefik Zdrava, a farmer from Dasar village in Elbasan is on the list of farmers who have been able to benefit from IPARD funds.
"I have been involved in agriculture since the old system broke down. We planted wheat, corn and other agricultural products. It was a big challenge for us when we worked the land without tools, we worked with primitive tools like plows and oxen," he says.
The opportunity to buy an agricultural machine came to him only after he applied to the IPARD II program, where with the benefited fund he was able to increase the cultivated land.
"I applied to the program and it was approved as a request, I can increase the cultivated land and buy a tractor. I got a bridle and a bridle. The production is now of better quality and higher compared to the previous time.
If before I did 30 quintals, today I do more than 100 quintals of wheat because the opportunity is better. This is only from EU funds," says the happy farmer.
The IPARD program and the shadows of corruption
The IPARD program is financed by the EU in Albania through IPA funds. The Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) is a mechanism created by the EU to provide assistance to the Western Balkans and Turkey, as support for the process of membership of these countries in the European family. Albania has benefited from this Instrument for the years 2014-2020, 639.5 million euros.
In 2022, 82.6 million euros and in 2023, 80 million euros. Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) programs are an important resource for candidate and potential EU countries to strengthen their capacities and develop key sectors. In many cases, they have been subject to concerns about the potential for abuse and corruption.
In July 2023, the EU suspended funding due to a corruption investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF.
"The European Commission has informed the Albanian government that it has taken precautionary measures based on initial information provided by the European Anti-Fraud Office [OLAF], following an investigation into allegations of corruption related to the implementation of the IPARD II program," the EU office stated.
In August 2023, OLAF submitted the final report on IPARD II funds to the Albanian authorities, and are awaiting a response from the competent authority.
"The follow-up is ongoing, but the report has not been made public, since making it public, even partially, could endanger the following procedures - it is emphasized in the clarification of the OLAF office.
Based on Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 883/2013², OLAF investigates cases of suspected fraud, corruption and other illegal activities harmful to the EU budget.
Frida Krifca was the leader of AZHBR in the years 2017-2021. When the scandal of the OLAF investigation broke, Krifca was the minister of agriculture and tried to relativize the problem during a speech in the Assembly.
"Three years of administrative investigations have been carried out, but a report of the findings has not yet been produced today. We have cooperated with OLAF in the investigation and welcome any corrective recommendations to implement to further improve processes,” said Krifca.
In IPARD III funds, about 146 million euros were programmed to be disbursed in Albania for the period from 2021 to 2027. The programmed funds are now not sure if they can be used.
According to the AZHBR, the IPARD II program was 94 million euros in total, of which 71 million euros were EU funding. During its implementation from 2014 to 2020, it was possible to disburse 54,3 million euros. In the 4 calls of the program, 510 applicants benefited, 82 of them were found to be in violation and 17 of them were asked to return the funds.
The senior officials who managed the funds of the IPARD program propagated the great success at the time, but on the ground the situation is different, many of the funds have gone to hostels, hotels or are not at all in the function of agriculture or livestock in the country.
The suspension of funds from the EU is a fatal blow to the sector, the state budget is unprepared
The draft budget for 2024 has been reduced. This decrease is a big blow, at a time when funds from the EU have been suspended and the Ministry of Finance cannot program funds for the IPARD program at least until 2025.
And if the situation continues in the same way with funds from the EU, we can safely say that for 2024 and 2025 no disbursements are expected from the IPARD programs.
The budget of the ministry at these levels requires at least 90 million euros to keep the support of the private sector to the minimum possible," asserts Agim Rrapaj, the chairman of the Agribusiness Council.
Big scandal without responsible?
The European Commission's report for 2022 reflects concrete figures of abuse of funds both in Albania and in other Balkan countries.
"The irregularities that have been discovered in the use of EU funds for agriculture in Albania, reported for 2022, amount to 33.5 million euros. This amount is 2.5 times higher than the amount of 13 million euros that was not used regularly by 6 other countries in the Balkans, including Turkey, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania", it is emphasized in EC report for 2022.
According to this report, the seven Balkan countries are suspected of having used 47 million euros through abuse. Of these, 33 million euros belong to Albania, or 71% of the total amount suspected by OLAF, as funds that have been used with abuses. 29% of the abused amount belongs to 6 other EU countries.
In June 2020, the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, asked the Albanian prosecution to engage, submitting a request for an in-depth investigation into the use of funds by the AZHBR. ACQJ has asked the Prosecutor's Office of the Judicial District of Tirana for information regarding the progress of the investigation. In response to our request, the prosecution clarifies that it has been declared incompetent for this matter and has been transferred to SPAK.
"On the basis of the material received for competence from the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime, the Prosecutor's Office at the Court of First Instance of the General Jurisdiction in Tirana has registered criminal proceedings no. 7471 of 2022, for the criminal offenses "Forgery of documents " and "Abuse of duty", provided by articles 186 and 248 of the Criminal Code, without author.
On 02.10.2023, it was declared incompetent and the file was sent for further investigations back to the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime", it is emphasized in the response of the General Prosecutor's Office.
ACQJ has also requested information from SPAK regarding the investigation into suspicions related to possible abuses of IPARD funds. As of the time this article is being published, there has been no response from SPAK.
Problems with IPA funds not only in Albania
Corruption and abuse of IPA funds are a common challenge in all Balkan countries.
According to OLAF's 2022 report, the review of 36 investigations on Western Balkan countries has shown that problems with IPA funds are widespread. North Macedonia has had 18 cases of investigation, Serbia 9 cases, Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 cases, and Kosovo 3 cases. The report shows that the problems are related to the funds given for the period 2021-2022 and are a general phenomenon in the region.
In the period from 2021 to 2022, the number of non-fraudulent and financial irregularities has undergone a remarkable increase. The irregularities were mainly below 10,000 euros and were related to the IPARD program in North Macedonia and Turkey. Albania has contributed to the increase of financial amounts with irregularities related to the IPARD program.
EU report mentions that about 10% of detected irregularities were reported as fraudulent. This percentage has undergone changes, with an increase in 2020 (17%) and the peak in 2021 with 20%.
Correction (15.01.2024): After a correction of the European Commission's report on the values reported as potential abuses, reported by the reporters of this institution, the reported values are not in Euros, but in Lek.
