Tirana - October 13, 2011- Today, the Country Manager of the World Bank office in Albania, Mrs. Kseniya Lvovsky met upon their request with representatives of Property with Justice Association. The focus of discussions was the recent World Bank report "Governance in the protection of immovable property rights in Albania". Expressing their concerns that the property issues have not found yet a final solution, they were critical with some of the recommendations of the report, especially with regard to restitution and compensation process, which, according to them, did not reflect the views of former owners.
Mrs. Lvovsky acknowledged their concerns, and emphasized the importance and need for continuous consultations with all stakeholders, which is called for in the report. She explained that the Bank report tries to describe the long and complicated history of property rights in Albania, and identify bottlenecks for progress. The report brings different experiences from other European countries, which have had to deal with similar issues. "We studied the international experience, and there is not a single country in the entire world- not only in Europe but the entire world - that has considered fair to provide a full compensation at the current market price for the land confiscated many years ago", noted Mrs. Lvovsky. Taking into consideration its unique history, commitments and circumstances, these experiences offer a wide range of options and approaches that should help develop a solution, through government-led consultations, that would have broad political support.
