September 26 (SeeNews) - The European Union and French development agency AFD have launched an EU-financed 19 million euro ($20 million) solid waste management project in Albania, the EU said on Tuesday.
The project, which will be implemented by AFD, aims to reduce the environmental and health impact of solid waste in Kukes and Gjirokastra waste areas respectively in northern and southern Albania, EU said in a social media post.
“Now that we have entered into the accession negotiation process, Albania will need to significantly accelerate all efforts to implement EU environmental standards and Europe is here to support Albania,” ambassador of the European Union in Albania, Luigi Soreca, said, as quoted in the EU post.
This is the first circular economy programme backed by the EU in the region, Soreca noted.
In 2020, the EU said it had concluded a 2.2-million-euro assessment of the existing waste management infrastructure in the two municipalities, resulting in the development of an integrated solid waste management plan.
($ = 0.943 euro)