Towards the establishment and functioning of the electronic system for asset declarations in Albania

SManalysis

TIRANA 08 APRIL 2019

COE EUROPE

Towards the establishment and functioning of the electronic system for asset declarations in Albania
The High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Audit of Assets and Conflicts of Interest (HIDAACI) will officially present the establishment and functioning of the electronic system for the declaration and publication of private interests of the elected subjects and some public officials.

The reform at HIDAACI, supported by international partners, included legal amendments, ensuring the possibility for the establishment of the electronic system for the declaration and publication of private interests, as well as provision of IT hardware and software solutions to support this new system. Through the Horizontal Facility Action against Economic Crime in Albania, the Council of Europe and the European Union in co-operation with the USAID have supported this institution in the development of this electronic system.

HIDAACI`s representative expressed the maximal recognition for all international partners - USAID, EU and the Council of Europe which have been and remain the main partners in increasing capacities of Albanian institutions in general and this institution in particular.

The journey towards the establishment and functioning of the electronic system is an important process for improving and further strengthening of the auditing and verification mechanism of private interests of high officials. In the same time, this is a complex process, which puts the institution in a very important reforming phase which will require the necessary time for testing, piloting and increasing the capacities of system’ users, to make it operational. HIDAACI remains fully committed to send forward this reform, seriously and with dedication as it has been the contribution in fulfilling other important processes such as the justice and police vetting.

The Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana, Jutta Gützkow stated that the electronic asset declaration system enables for the first time in Albania the electronic declaration, processing and publication of assets of elected and public officials. It is an instrumental tool in addressing relevant GRECO recommendations, in supporting the implementation of key institutional reforms in the country, as well as in increasing citizens' scrutiny and confidence in their institutions.

Ambassador Luigi Soreca, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Albania stressed that the establishment of an online asset declaration system is a first step in order to make verifications faster, more efficient and more transparent. He also pointed out that asset declarations have become an EU standard for candidate countries to prevent corruption and in this aspect, Albania is on time. He concluded looking forward to the first electronic asset declaration exercise in January 2020.

On behalf of the US Government, the USAID Mission Director, Mikaela Meredith underlined the importance of a fruitful dialogue between the watchdog institutions and civil society and media organisations who share a common goal in improving transparency, strengthening good governance principles, and protecting public resources from abuse.

The electronic declaration system is designed around the principles below to enable:

Simplification of the process of filling in, submitting and publishing declarations;
Automatization of gathering, processing and saving the data for the declaration and control of private interests;
Elimination of errors during filling in the declaration of private interests and processing of data of declaration;
Guaranteeing the confidentiality and protection of personal data contained in the declaration of the private interests;
Publication in real time of the declaration of the private interests.
The process of establishing the new electronic declaration system will be followed by a series of training activities for the users and the public.