Maastricht, NL, 16 June 2021: Today, the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) and the Albanian School of Public Administration (ASPA) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to cooperate in fields of mutual interest. ASPA is an autonomous government institution, and its mission is to train the civil servants of the central government, local government, and independent institutions.

In particular, the signed MoC allows for

• the exchange of good practices and solutions relating to the strengthening of operations and professional capacities in the public administration;
• cooperation on joint professional developments programmes; and
• the strengthening of organisational and professional capacities of the parties.
   

On the occasion of the digital signing ceremony, where each of the parties simultaneously signed an original copy of the MoC, EIPA’s Director-General Marco Ongaro said that, ‘(t)his Memorandum of Cooperation represents an important opportunity for EIPA to strengthen our ties not only with ASPA but also with the Republic of Albania as well as more generally with the Balkans region.  It also constitutes yet another example of EIPA’s role in the European integration process and how we can support the achievement of national objectives of both current and the future Member States.’

EIPA’s history in Albania

Since the early 2000s, EIPA has implemented several projects and activities in and with Albania, some within the framework of the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) and others supported by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The latter also supports the now signed MoC, which coincides with the launch of a new technical assistance cooperation project supported by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

The scope of the new project

During the ceremony, ASPA’s Director-General, Kleopatra Maliqi, stressed that, ‘People development in public administration is an important means that governments have toward the achievement of sustainable progress and well-being and as such, it needs to become a priority issue.’

Under the new project, EIPA and ASPA will cooperate on, inter alia, the strengthening of ASPA’s pool of trainers and the exchange of experience and good practices related to institutional developments within ASPA.

For more information on recent activities and technical assistance projects, access EIPA's latest

Annual Report.