The socialist majority has presented the proposal for the Administrative-Territorial Reform 2.0, which envisages reducing the number of municipalities in Albania from 61 to 46, through the merger of 28 existing municipalities into 13 new units.
The proposal was forwarded to the mayors and municipal councils by socialist deputies, members of the Special Parliamentary Committee for Administrative-Territorial Reform.
According to the majority, the changes are based on the analysis of developments in the ten years since the 2014 reform, as well as on consultations held in the territory. The statement states that the objective is to create municipalities with greater administrative, financial and technical capacities, in order to improve services and meet the requirements related to the process of integration into the European Union.
The reform also proposes the creation of a new level of local organization, the “City”, replacing the current “Municipality – Administrative Unit” scheme with the “Municipality – City – Administrative Unit” model. According to the project, the city will have a greater role in representation, planning and coordination of local services.
According to the draft law, the consolidation will be carried out as follows:
Fushë-Arrëz with Puka;
Klosi with Mati;
Rrogozhina with Kavaja;
Dimali and Poliçani with Berat;
Patosi with Fier;
Divjaka with Lushnja
; Selenica with Vlora;
Maliqi with Korça;
Këlcyra with Përmet;
Memaliaj with Tepelena;
Libohova with Gjirokastra;
Cërriku and Belshi with Elbasan;
Prrenjasi with Librazhd.
In total, around 225 thousand residents are included in the municipalities that are proposed to be merged.
The majority argues that the new model was designed taking into account demographic, economic and administrative indicators, as well as factors such as geographical distances, road infrastructure, the presence of minorities and the identity features of the areas. For this reason, some municipalities such as Pusteci, Finiqi, Dropulli, Tropoja, Hasi, Skrapari and Konispoli are not affected by the reform, despite their size.
According to the proposed procedure, municipalities will have 60 days to review the project, hold consultations with citizens, and adopt a position in the municipal councils. After that, all opinions and documentation will be forwarded to the Assembly, which will review the draft law.
The Special Commission for Administrative-Territorial Reform was established with equal representation of the majority and the opposition. However, its work did not end with a joint project, as the opposition withdrew from the process. The majority decided to continue drafting the reform and has already submitted its proposal for public and institutional consultation.
