PRESS RELEASE
Bank of Albania to benefit under the technical assistance programme with central banks of the European System of Central Banks

Over the next two years, the Bank of Albania will be part of the technical assistance programme launched by the Deutsche Bundesbank together with 17 national central banks of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the European Central Bank (ECB), for central banks and banking supervisory institutions in EU candidate countries and potential candidates from the Western Balkans. This programme will be implemented with funds under EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II).

The Bank of Albania will receive technical assistance together with the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Banking Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Banking Agency of Republika Srpska, the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo, the Central Bank of Montenegro, the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia and the National Bank of Serbia.

The aim of the program is to further strengthen the institutional capacities of beneficiary institutions, notably by further enhancing their analytical and policy tools and by transferring the best international and European standards into national practices.

On the occasion of the first Programme Steering Committee meeting held at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), the Programme Manager of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Mr Martin Dinkelborg, underscored: “With this joint initiative, the central banking community in the EU stands ready to support our colleagues in the Western Balkans in their endeavour to introduce the highest standards, for the benefit of their countries and people”.

Ms Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald, Director of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank’s Economic Analysis and Research Department, highlighted the importance of the regional programme for the region’s continuing prosperous economic development.  In addition, she welcomed the collaborative approach taken by the 18 national central banks and the ECB contributing to the programme. 

Mr Andreas Papadopoulos, Advisor on Economic Governance in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, commented: “The programme aims at improving the economic governance in the Western Balkans and, in a longer-term perspective, at supporting their institutions for the eventual membership in the EU, in this case the ESCB.”

During the implementation of the programme, the Deutsche Bundesbank, together with the participating 17 national central banks and with contributions by the ECB, will organise an intensive regional training programme on key central banking and supervisory issues. The programme consists of 20 training events, focused on areas of banking supervision, financial stability, financial consumer protection and financial inclusion, recovery and resolution, monetary policy, payment systems, statistics, compliance and EU integration, governance policies, accounting and internal audit.

The training will be provided by experts from the national central banks of the ESCB and the ECB. In parallel, there will also be two policy workshops for decision-makers on resolution of non-performing loans and governance issues. In addition to the regional training events, the programme will finance the implementation of specific bilateral measures to be defined in the meetings of the Programme Steering Committee.

In addition to the Deutsche Bundesbank and European Central Bank, the programme will be implemented in partnership with the the Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique, Българска народна банка (Bulgarian National Bank), Česká národní banka, the Bank of Greece, the Banco de España, the Banque de France, Hrvatska narodna banka, the Banca d’Italia, Lietuvos bankas, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Narodowy Bank Polski, the Banco de Portugal, Banca Naţională a României, Banka Slovenije and Národná banka Slovenska.