Press Statement of the Minister of Justice Ylli Manjani:

Hello!

Today the Council of Ministers took three important decisions on the treatment of property. It reviewed and adopted them. These decisions concern the setting of the rules on how the Agency for the Treatment of Property will function, how compensation and restitution of property will be done, and how applications or requests of owners for property estimation will be considered. All three are important decisions which enable the physical restitution of property immediately, starting tomorrow at 08:00 when the new Agency for the Treatment of Property begins work. Therefore, anyone who has been having questions or concerns raised by the inept political debate must know that the physical restitution of property starts tomorrow. When the property is free, it is returned.

The first 24 million dollars, set in this budget year as a fund for the compensation of the property to owners, will start being implemented with priority from tomorrow. 24 million dollars, as never before, are ready and their disbursement will start tomorrow.

There are 26 thousand decisions, citizens-owners of the Republic of Albania, which have been provided to date by the Agency of the Compensation of Property, but no one has thought about what to do with them, to determine the economic status and their estimation. Evaluation for these decisions will start tomorrow, and they will have a price. Users of these decisions will be informed publicly and individually.

Starting from tomorrow, 23 thousand hectares of agricultural land will be made available as a compensation fund to those owners whose land is occupied, and to whom the state and have to give something. 23 thousand hectares of agricultural land are already ready.

The files of 11 thousand citizens of the Republic of Albania who have applied over the years with the Agency for the Restitution and Compensation of Property to have back their property, files that have turned into nothing over these years, will be treated and analysed with public accountability starting from tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, these 11 thousand citizens as well will be informed publicly on the official website of the Agency for the Treatment of Property.

All those citizens of the Republic of Albania who, for one reason or another, did not have the opportunity to apply to reclaim their property, are required to submit, starting form today if they want, one application with only two documents. Two documents out of 30 that were required until recently. One document of origin and a map showing where the property is located. That’s all! Just these two documents. The moment these two documents and the application are submitted to the Agency of the Treatment of Property, it is up to us, it is up to this Agency to go and verify what has been done to date. You have seen owners with documents in hand going from one office to another, wandering for years and years. This will not happen any longer. All you have to do is inform us and submit the application with the two documents, and thereafter it is up to us to find the truth, to find where the property is, and start the procedure. All these, starting tomorrow.

This is the new law on property.

These are the decisions of the government.

This offer is the most serious – I reiterate this – the most serious offer that the Albanian state has made so far to landowners, who are unjustly called former owners. The offer clarifies the property issue once and for all. Secondly, the explanation, of course according to public interests, too. Because we cannot burden a category against another one, but in a more harmonized way as it is with the law on the treatment of property. These decisions of the government do nothing but breakdown it further.

I have one final announcement for all those citizens whose property has been occupied by illegal constructions. Compensation, or the restitution of the money for the occupied property, will begin starting tomorrow. Unfortunately, it is still at 70% because this is the amount we have collected so far, but we are committed to pay and clarify the remaining 30% by the end of the mandate of this government. However, depending on the progress of the legalization process, this can be achieved earlier.

These are the announcement I have today on behalf of the Government for all legitimate owners in this country. In addition, I am here to announce also the very serious commitment of the Albanian government to have the property issue in Albania resolved once and for all.